kakurenbo
by Miss Chocolat
Summary: Once upon a time in the ninja world, a sickly baby girl was born… her guardian deity saved her, but she ended up inheriting the goddess’ attraction pheromone… For better or worse. Slightly AU, Saku/Almost Everyone
1. Prologue: Birth

Summary: Once upon a time in the ninja world, a sickly baby girl was born… her guardian deity saved her, but she ended up inheriting the goddess' attraction pheromone… For better or worse. Slightly AU, Saku/Almost Everyone

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Rating: T

Story Genre: General/Humor/Action-Adventure/Slight Romance, Horror, Spiritual, Angst

Chapter Genre: General

Warnings: None

Page Count: 5

Word Count: 2216

Musical Inspiration: Maki Rapunzel –Original Long Mix- (game-Pop'n Music), Tomorrow's Hand (anime-Witchblade), Kohaku (anime-Grenadier), Still Doll (anime-Vampire Knight)

Notes: This is the rewrite of 'Haruno Sakura the Kurobi Hanyou'. There are VERY OBVIOUS changes from the original and this, so don't even bother trying to think back to it, and if you haven't read it yet, DON'T, because it may mess up this story's focus and plot.

This story is meant to symbolize something dark hidden by something bright and cheerful, like a hammer waiting overhead to fall unexpectedly and ruin normal life.

The Haruno clan uses both Japanese and Chinese (Japanese outside the compound and Chinese within), so when they speak in Chinese it'll be in italics. Honorifics will stay the same throughout the story though, so there won't be confusion.

This first chapter can be summarized by the words: Possible Prologue.

Pictures, as usual, can be found on my profile.

.-.

**.kakurenbo**

-Hide and Seek-

:Birth:

.-.

_(Konoha, Haruno Compound, 13 years ago, March 27__th__, 11:39PM)_

"_Moniket-dono!"_ a distressed aide called out breathlessly from the doorway. Her run from the clan's medical room had stolen her air. _"Toki-denka! She…"_ A pant cut off the red haired woman's words.

"_What has happened to my wife?"_ a strong, baritone voice asked from the end of the room. The hidden threat that would be carried through if he was told bad news was obvious to the aide. The woman shrunk back in fear and began to slightly shake.

"_I-I'm sorry to say that Toki-denka encountered problems during birth… S-she is thankfully all right, but your, your daughter doesn't have m-much chance of survival…"_ The red headed aide gasped as she felt a gust of air push past her right after her lord disappeared from his worried perch.

"_Toki?!"_ the white haired husband called as he rushed into the noisiest room in the quiet night. The five doctors in the room flinched for a split second before returning to their rushed work. The male glanced in their direction as they fussed over something blocked from his view as he hurried to his wife's side.

"_M-Moni-chan,"_ the tired and crying matriarch mumbled through her tears. The lord stared into the powerful woman's blue eyes as she teared._ "M-my baby girl… It's, it's all my f-fault! I couldn't… get, get… it… d-done…"_ The exhausted female whispered, _"Right,"_ before falling into sleep. Moniket tensed and swiftly strode to his most trusted medical personnel who were currently arguing about his child's dissolving health.

"_What are you going to do about this?"_ the secretly worried man commanded to know. The doctors looked at each other before sending their chief to explain. The white clothed man stepped forward, allowing his lord to see his sickly child lying in a small basket.

"_Sir, I'm afraid to say your daughter only has a small chance of survival."_ The doctor looked down in shame. _"We knew something was wrong when she wasn't crying… Your daughter's entire immune system is nonexistent to barely active, while every one of her internal organs are weak, especially her heart. She cannot produce enough blood to keep herself alive, causing her body to shut down…"_ The doctor quickly gazed into the torn eyes of his lord before continuing. _"It's such a rare disease that we don't have any name for it… but anyone who has been diagnosed with it has died shortly after. We… we do know of a way that may save your daughter, though."_

The broken man looked at the shorter man with hope_. "What... what would that be? If you know of a cure, then proceed with administrating it to my daughter!"_ The doctor winced and stepped back.

"_It's not as simple as that,"_ the man meekly explained. _"This is an incurable disease because it takes its victims too quickly for any type of healing methods to work… But there is an old Haruno saying that was spoken by one of the earliest advisors of the Great Kurokami-heika…_ _**"When one cannot get something done mortally, do it divinely."**__…Kurokami-heika was said to have, 'laughed greatly and agreed instantly,' symbolizing that she liked the idea." _The timid doctor looked out to the moon outside. _"If we apply that saying to this moment… It is possible that we could out step our mortal ways and call upon Kurokami-heika to assist us. Thankfully, we are in the time of her communication opening: 11PM to midnight—the celestial time of darkness and shadow."_

"_Then contact Kurokami-heika at once!"_ the troubled lord commanded. The doctor nodded his head.

"_W-we need you to pray as well, Moniket-dono,"_ the meek doctor added as he and his colleagues bent down and pressed their foreheads to the ground in the highest ranking of prayer positions. Moniket, as well, bent down and began praying aloud with the five doctors.

"_Kurokami-heika, mother of all darkness and our people,_

_Guardian of the Haruno and God of Lust,_

_We humbly request your celestial presence before us,_

_By contract of the Kage'in and prayers of black."_

The six men continued to chant this phrase over and over. By the seventh time, all light had disappeared from the area, and only the moon provided shine.

"_From the black shadow, Kurokami appears to heed her children's prayers." _The six men looked up in awe and shock as the sultry and velvety voice spoke. Before their wide eyes, the darkness took form of their guardian deity, Kurokami, in all her dark beauty.

The woman they prayed to was a goddess on par with Amaterasu's beauty and grace. She owned a body of skin as white as paper, long hair blacker than the raven's wing, and eyes as red as the blood coursing through her veins. On her face stood her heavenly markings: a pink circle that stood out on her forehead and seemed to flame down across her face to her left cheek and fade to black, along with two black lines under her eyes that resembled brush strokes (drawn by Amaterasu herself to show the woman's high rank).

Her curvy and largely breasted body was hidden by the ancient style of Haruno robes, dyed in a deep red that complimented her eyes.

Nine orbs that were colored in shades of black, pink, red, and white with Chinese characters inscribed on them rotated in a circle behind her back, like they were a part of her ensemble.

"_K-Kurokami-heika!" _stuttered the head doctor. The higher power floated above them and bobbed slightly in the air.

"_Guardian of the Haruno clan,"_ Moniket labeled, forehead still pressed to the wooden floor, _"I humbly ask of your assistance."_

Ruby red slid to the white hair of the man below her. _"Yes?"_

The father looked disdainfully at his dying daughter. _"I would forever be in your debt if you would… If you would be kind enough to save my daughter from her illness." _Moniket looked into his 'mother's' eyes. _"I ask you as the clan lord, but plead to you as a distressed father and husband."_ The god peered at the silent newborn child. Kurokami flowed towards its still form, and watched at it breathed softly. Her heavenly sight allowed her to survey the extensive damage in the baby's body and caused her eyes to narrow as she recognized the illness.

"_Your child is on the brink of death, Moniket,"_ Kurokami spoke seriously. _"There is only one way of saving her."_ The nervous lord looked up to his daughter's only chance. _"The type of healing she requires is far too advanced and she needs it to be instantly—a complete regeneration of her body. I can give it to her, but it will require that my soul is absorbed into her own, making us one, since high scale regeneration is only available to high powers, like demons or gods."_

"_Does that mean you won't save her?!"_ angered, the lord shouted. Kurokami sent him a silencing stare.

"_I have my own problems at the moment, and this is a wonderful opportunity for me to help myself and another." _Smirking, she stared at her own hand. _"Before I begin the transaction, you must promise me a few things."_

"_Whatever you want!"_ the man gratefully answered, bowing in respect. Kurokami smiled wryly.

"_By transferring my soul and merging with your daughter, we will become one. I request that you don't treat her as if she held a god's position in heaven, because she doesn't. …Yet."_

"_Done, Kurokami-heika!"_

"_I also require you to burn my body at midnight under today's full moon at my shrine within the compound. I also want you to understand that you should keep my Condemnation Seals in storage and _never_ touch them."_

"_Understood!" _Moniket answered quickly.

"_Lastly, I want you to promise that you won't lose faith in my godly presence. I still exist, and I will hear your prayers wherever I may be sealed."_ Roaming her eyes over the people in the room she ordered, _"Remove any living thing from this room. You will know when to reenter."_

The doctors nodded nervously and started to corral their matriarch out of the room. The last man left, Moniket, continuously thanked the goddess. Kurokami waved her hand carelessly and turned her body to the sickly infant. Moniket was suddenly swallowed by shadow and appeared next to his wife, outside the room.

"_What a fragile girl," _Kurokami remarked softly, floating to the baby's side. _"I only pray that this intrusion of mine doesn't cause problems in the long run."_ Breathing in deeply, the black haired woman raised her hand over the child's chest and muttered her last incantation. White symbols appeared as she spoke, marking themselves over the ground and rotating much like her nine seals.

"_Life wisped away by my black shadow,_

_Return by the power of tomorrow's hand._

_Step back from Amaterasu's white glow,_

_And into the black that is I."_

Kurokami gasped as she felt her soul move from her hands and into the girl's chest. Her eyes began to close gently as the baby girl's body began to glow faintly. Even when her body was dead, it fell with grace when the child began to whimper. The nine orbs that circled her back fell with a few 'clunks', no longer sensing their master's aura. The baby in the basket began to cry loudly once the white symbols faded away.

"_Kurokami-heika!?"_ Moniket called worriedly. He stared in shock at the lifeless body of their guardian deity and heiress' savior. The five doctors ushered back in, only staring at the body for a few moments before rushing to the crying child's side.

"_She sacrificed herself for your daughter, Moniket-dono," _a young doctor whispered as she held the, now healthy, baby. _"What are you going to name her?"_ Moniket carefully took the infant in his robed arms and looked at the delicate features of his daughter. He gently traced the pink circle on her forehead from Kurokami's great gift.

"_It is said that Kurokami-heika was born under a Sakura blossom at midnight, just like this one." _The thoughtful man remembered. _"I will name her Sakura in honor of Kurokami-heika's beginning." _Moniket looked to the young woman next to him. _"Please summon the High Priestesses at once. Tell them… by Kurokami-heika's last wishes, the need to prepare her body for a sacred burning under the full moon at once."_ The doctor nodded at ran out, heading for the shrine. Moniket stared out at the full moon.

"_Thank you, Kurokami-heika… You don't understand how much this means. Thank you."_

.-.

_(Konoha, Haruno Compound, 6 years later, February 3__rd__, 8:23PM)_

"_That's a pretty story, Mommy," _a young girl commented, smiling a her lone strip of black hair fell into her face, obstructing the view of her soft ruby eyes and paper white skin.

"_It is, isn't it," _the older red haired woman agreed as she brushed her daughter's black hair back into her pink hair. She glanced at her daughter's slightly large forehead and envisioned the pink circle hidden behind her bangs.

Kurokami nodded from the back of the girl's mind, smiling at the memory.

.-.

Translations:

-dono/honorific that translates to 'lord' or something similar

-denka/honorific that translates to 'highness' or something similar

-heika/honorific that translates to 'majesty' or something similar

Kage'in/Shadow Seals, Seals of Shadow

In Addition:

Yes, I used Amaterasu in this. Amaterasu is the Japanese Sun goddess.


	2. 1: Gennin

Summary: Once upon a time in the ninja world, a sickly baby girl was born… her guardian deity saved her, but she ended up inheriting the goddess' attraction pheromone… For better or worse. Slightly AU, Saku/Almost Everyone

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Rating: T

Story Genre: General/Humor/Action-Adventure/Slight Romance, Horror, Spiritual, Angst

Chapter Genre: General/Humor

Warnings: …faint yuri?

Page Count: 10

Word Count: 4318

Musical Inspiration: Gyouretsu no Dekiru Erin Shinryoujou (game: Touhou)

Notes: Welcome to chapter two.

Yay.

More… exciting stuff, now, no boring past!

Please don't be offended by any yuri. It's like, funny crap. It can't be even _recognized_ as complete romance. XD

When Kurokami 'speaks' to Sakura, she uses whatever language is being used around her, because it's hard for Sakura to listen to someone speaking the opposite language and listen to Kurokami at the same time.

.-.

**Kakurenbo**

-Hide and Seek-

:Gennin:

.-.

_(Konoha, Haruno Compound Gates, June 16__th__, 7:30AM)_

Today was a nice, warm day. Birds were singing in the trees happily while rabbits below hustled around as they hopped to their burrows. The wind was faintly blowing. The sun shined down brightly, almost happy that there were no clouds to hide it away from the hidden village. People began to open their 

stores for the day, and some early birds were already out for some business. Skies stretched their blue color above anyone below, making the day a beautiful, normal day.

One of the people already out was the young, pink haired (save a lone strip of black) heiress of the Haruno clan, Haruno Sakura. Today she would be graduating from the academy and placed in a three-man squad with a jounin leader.

Sakura was a very pretty girl. Though many people didn't notice her, since she was as silent as a mute and seemed to hide from everyone in her large, red coat with white borders. The coat cut off right before her shoulders and continued as detached sleeves. But her shoulder skin couldn't be seen, since she had gray tinted bandages wrapped around them. The coat ended at the middle of her thighs. But _under_ that coat she wore a black dress that peeked out from under the coat and reached down to her knees. For footwear, she wore boot-like shoes that ended at the middle of her shin. The bottom that covered her foot was red, while from her ankle up it was gray with small buckles on the sides. The boots had small heels to increase her height of 5''4 to 5''6. Yet you couldn't see any leg revealed by the dress, since the rest of her shins, like her shoulders, were covered in gray wrapping.

The only thing you could see was her paper white face. Sakura's delicate features made her cute and seemingly weak. She had two large, soft ruby eyes that sparkled when she was interested in something or happy. She had a cute, button nose that her mother loved poking to tease. Sakura had pale lips that were usually hidden by her large collared jacket. Her large forehead (which had the pink circle—trademark of Kurokami) was hidden by her pink bangs. Her hair, soft and smooth, reached her waist. The black stripe she owned was another trait she inherited from Kurokami, and tended to fall in front of her eye.

The Haruno child walked slowly from the closing gates of the compound. Since she was alone, she kept her head raised, exposing the usually hidden bottom half of her face. Sakura failed at keeping her eyes on the road in front of her and instead let them roam across the green trees.

"How pretty," she commented. Even her voice was soft was sweet. Unfortunately, she was too shy and insecure to speak up. Thus, she never allowed anyone to hear her honey coated voice.

'I'm actually graduating, huh?' Sakura thought with disbelief hinted in her words.

'**I though it would never be over!'** Kurokami complained. The goddess suddenly smiled. **'But I'm happy for you. It was interesting to see first hand how they train you kids. It's improved a lot since my time of mortality.'**

'What did they do?' Sakura inquired softly, not noticing that she raised one of her sleeved hands to her mouth on accident.

'**It depended. Back then, the only suitable training was done by clans or people who had a good chance of being successful. But I've seen that some clans were brutal, or others weren't very modern. It differed really.'** Kurokami made a sound as she thought. **'Now that I think about it, the old Haruno training plans were somewhat behind…'**

"Is that so…" Sakura wondered aloud. She thought about what training could've been like back in the day. The pinkette was so into thought that she didn't notice a presence running toward her in a full throttle charge.

"SA-KU-RAAAA!" the running person called out loudly, causing Sakura to snap her eyes open and hide in her jacket (a bad reflex, she swears). Her red eyes only managed to see the blonde head of the runner, but that was more than enough.

"I-Ino-chan…?" Sakura whispered as the blonde girl rammed into her. The Haruno girl could feel the air rushing out of her like a whoopee cushion.

"Paper-girl!" Ino teased, using her old nickname for Sakura. She had thought of using 'forehead-girl' once, but Sakura cried at the name. "Today's _grad-u-a-tion_!" Ino sung out the last word as she swung Sakura around and pushed her down the road.

"I-it is." Sakura's eyebrows creased up as she smiled, since she really didn't know why Ino was so… excited today.

"Jeez!" Ino complained, poking Sakura's white cheek. "Just because you only spent three years in that place doesn't mean you shouldn't celebrate!" Looking off to the side, Ino scoffed. "And that too. How unfair… They let you in even though you skipped _three years_! The latest is only eight months… How did you do it?!" Sakura nervously peeked at Ino.

"I-I don't know. My parents contacted the Hokage personally the day before, so I wouldn't be able to know. They could've bribed him," Ino's ears twitched, "threatened him," Ino's eyes gained a mischievous glint, "or even blackmailed him…" Ino's mouth pulled into a smirk.

"How exciting!" Ino said in a teasing tone behind her hand. "Think about what that could mean!" Sakura looked at Ino with her scared face: a small, open mouthed frown accompanied by two large, watery eyes. Ino cut off her sentence and blushed faintly. "…N-never mind…"

Sakura's countenance melted into a shy smile and looked back at the upcoming buildings. Sometimes, with a being even older than the oldest bijuu inside her, she marveled at the way civilization had developed. Once in awhile the aloof Kurokami would give her own memories to the Haruno heiress, allowing her to see what it was like back when electricity was only in the sky and language was very different depending on the region. She admired the bright colors Konoha was painted in, since she knew that before they didn't exist. But what she really, _really_ liked were the older styled buildings, like her own compound or the Hyuuga compound. They showed that not all history was erased from every day life, and for Kurokami, that was refreshing to see.

"Oh, look, Sakura!" Ino broke Sakura's train of though as she jabbed a finger at a figure in front of them. "It's Hinata!" Sakura gave a little smile when Ino screamed Hinata's name, already used to the blonde's screeching. The Hyuuga girl turned around meekly but fell into a more relaxed position when she saw the familiar colors that represented her friends.

"H-hi guys," Hinata greeted with a smile as Ino hauled Sakura over to the other heiress. The pinkette smiled at Hinata, her only other friend. Since they were so shy, they didn't have many friends or even aquaintices. Sakura remembered how Hinata was shocked to find someone even shyer than herself. The silly memory brought a small, hidden smile to her lips.

"Good morning, Hinata-chan," Sakura cheerfully chirped. The three had been friends so long that they no longer had to strain their ears to hear Sakura, since she grew somewhat louder when with familiar people. Hinata smiled at her similarly dressed friend. Ino switched her eyes from both girls and sighed exasperatedly.

"Anyone would think you were relatives at a glance!" she whined. "Look at you two!" Hinata and Sakura looked down at each other. "You have the same bangs, the same love for coats, the same shyness… You're even as quiet as one another!" Sakura and Hinata both looked down with blushes sprayed across their cheeks. Sakura's was slightly more prominent though, since her skin was shades lighter than Hinata's somewhat healthier tone.

"I don't think they would completely think we were relatives," Sakura protested quietly. They resumed moving towards the academy, and at the speed they were walking, they would definitely have a few minutes to spare. "Our hair colors are on completely different light spectrums… My eyes are red and Hinata-chan's are that pretty white…" Sakura hid in her collar as Hinata blushed at the comment. Ino scoffed mentally.

'Sakura-chan said she only liked the _color_, not Hinata's actual eyes… Yeah, that's it!'

'S-Sakura-chan thinks my eyes are pretty!' Hinata cheered mentally. She bubbled with mental happiness that transferred as a blush on the outside world. Meanwhile, Sakura looked at her two friends with a tiny smile. She was grateful to have them, because she would have definitely not have been who she was without them. Bravely, she gently grabbed their hands and began to swing them childishly. Hinata's and Ino's heads both swung towards their captured hands and gained small blushes.

"I-I'm so happy to have you two as my friends!" Sakura declared with a normal voice tone—her 'shouting' voice. Ino hummed loudly with little tears in her eyes as she clamed onto Sakura.

"I-I AM TOO!" she yelled, squeezing Sakura. Hinata followed, but did it more gently.

"S-so am I," Hinata added softly. Sakura couldn't see it, but both huggers sported mighty, dark red blushes.

'Oh my god, oh my god, I'm hugging Sakura-chan!' Ino thought with disbelief. Hinata's thoughts were similar.

'Oh, oh my!' Happily, she smiled into Sakura's hair. 'I'm almost there! I'm going to claim your heart for my own, Sakura-chan!'

…They were slightly more devious though.

"I-I need to be l-let go now…" Sakura requested, somewhat worried that she wouldn't be able to get enough oxygen to her weak heart. Ino and Hinata leapt away for a few reasons: they were both wrapped around Sakura's little finger, they were going to do _bad_ things if they didn't, and they knew of Sakura's condition.

Poor little Sakura had a weak heart. Even though Kurokami had been able to regenerate most of her body, her heart remained weak from the strain of keeping her alive at birth. Kurokami did her best to give it the ultimate protection though, since she didn't admire doing things half-assed. Though it wasn't usually a problem, sometimes Sakura had to be extra careful; if something happened where her heart was anyway harmed it could just stop beating like _that_. The people outside the compound believed this was why her skin was so deathly white and never tanned, but her family knew it was Kurokami.

"Sorry, Sakura," Ino apologized as the pinkette caught her breath and kept a hand over her heart. Hinata did the same, but in a more nervous voice. Hinata worried greatly for Sakura, because they were very similar in terms of body structure, so she knew how difficult it could be for Sakura.

Sakura breathed in once more and began walking. Hinata and Ino caught up quickly, since Sakura walked slowly. "I'm okay. You, you know, you guys d-don't have to worry like that." She shyly glanced to each of her sides (which were flanked by both infatuated girls). "Y-you should be used to that."

"We know, paper-girl," Ino answered. "But we can't help but worry if something will make you go into a spasm of something." Hinata nodded. Sakura frowned a little and looked towards the ground.

"…Am I that troubling?" Sakura pondered sadly. Ino and Hinata shook their heads madly.

"We j-just worry," Hinata consoled the depressed girl.

Sakura's eyes widened as she came to a sudden thought. "Um, do you realize that we… we may not be placed in the same team…?" The three girls twitched accordingly.

"The-they wouldn't do that!" Ino yelled, waving an arm around. Sakura shook her head as Hinata mulled it over in darkness.

"Think about it… S-statistically, the ratio of girls to boys that passed the gennin exams…" Ino dumbly listened as Sakura showed her potential. No one knew Sakura was this intelligent, since she kept herself to the back and hidden. Sakura counted on her fingers. "There's maybe one girl f-for every two boys. Plus, I know that they split t-the teams up to balance it out or to make id-ideal groups."

"What kind of groups would we be on, then?" Ino asked. "It sounds like you already know the teams."

"No, S-Sakura-chan's just smart about the-these things," Hinata defended.

"Well, I guess I kind of do know," Sakura commented quietly. She saw the Academy in the distance, and Kurokami gave her the time. 'So we have a few more minutes…'

"Tell us!" Ino chanted. Sakura blushed and poked her fingers together like Hinata would.

"I-Ino-chan, you would be on a team for interrogating or capture, because of you signature family jutsu," Sakura pointed out. Ino nodded sagely.

"That would make sense, I guess."

"Hinata-chan, you would probably be sent on a team meant for spying or tracking." Sakura put her hands down.

Hinata pointed to her eyes. "Because of my Byakugan, right?" Sakura nodded.

"…Before we go in…" Ino interrupted mysteriously, "…What would you be on, Sakura?"

Sakura froze for a moment. 'I wish she didn't ask that…' Kurokami smiled darkly from Sakura's mind.

'**I know what you would be,'** Kurokami teased. Sakura sighed mentally.

'I do as well.'

"Please, Sakura-chan." Hinata looked at Sakura's eyes. "T-tell us?" The ruby eyes moved to the front and recognized the next door as their classroom door.

Hope flitted in Sakura's fragile heart. If she could time it right… "I… I would belong to…" They entered the room just when Sakura wanted it. The loud gennin in the room drowned out her quiet voice. "Search and destroy."

Ino pulled at her bang in frustration. Knowing her best friend, Ino know that Sakura wouldn't repeat herself now that she was in the classroom with other people—actually, she probably wouldn't speak for the rest of the day. Hinata, though, had been taught how to read lips from a very young age, and was extremely shocked.

'S-search and destroy?' she wondered in her mind. 'S-Sakura-chan is too fragile for that type of team! She… She could get killed! She could kill _herself_ if she wasn't careful!' Sweat dripped down Hinata's neck at the horrible prospect of Sakura dying.

"Darn it!" Ino mumbled as she realized that the only seats open were scattered around the room. She would have to leave her precious Sakura next to two strangers! Ino knew that Sakura could be independent and stand her ground, but what if they bullied her?! Hinata, like Ino, worried for Sakura's well being.

'Oh…' the pinkette thought gloomily. She watched as Ino directed Hinata to a seat near the one she chose. Quietly, Sakura moved towards the only seat near Ino's… It was the one in the first row in the front by the window, where Naruto and Sasuke were already sitting down. Cautiously as to not alert them of her presence, Sakura sneaked toward the empty middle seat. Naruto noticed though, and shouted it out.

"Eh?! Sakura-chan, you want to sit here!?" Naruto, as clueless as ever, revealed her carefully woven shield of invisibility. Everyone turned to look at the new spectacle with a few wondering who Sakura was.

Sakura nodded faintly and hid herself in her large red collar while playing with her fingers. Naruto blushed and patted the seat next to him, but not before glaring at the boy across from him.

'Dumb Sasuke! She probably only wanted to sit here because of _him_!' Naruto grumbled in his mind.

Sasuke, as you may already know, was exceedingly popular with the majority of the female population. With his dark looks, he won over many a girl. This was proven by the overwhelmingly large fanclub he owned—with both genders.

Unlike normal girls, Sakura held little to no interest for romance. Her thoughts were occupied by other, more important things—her family, Kurokami, staying alive, and making sure her heart kept beating. Oh, and to make sure she brushed her teeth twice a day. In fact, she couldn't realize two people in love even if they had a tongue war right in front of her. The Haruno clan had taken a vow to keep Sakura as innocent and clueless as possible. It really wasn't her fault—her family probably didn't want to lose either of the girls (Sakura _and_ Kurokami).

This would explain why Sakura was quite clueless when it came to her _own_ fanclub.

Sakura couldn't even realize her two only friends were probably the proverbial presidents. Ranking below them was pretty much every one else.

Many people couldn't fathom how one, shy, secret girl could manage to pull so many affections from so many ninja and non-ninja. And, actually, it isn't all her. When Kurokami bonded with Sakura she forgot one very important detail: the goddess owned a very annoying pheromone especially for attracting every possible mate, both genders accepted. It was a carry over from her demonic side, for which was born with her. Soon after the fusion was complete, Kurokami literally smacked her forehead with her palm as she remembered all the troubles the damned pheromone caused (between fights and constant bundles of gifts).

Maybe Sakura was living proof that irony existed; Kurokami could never figure it out.

As stated above, Sakura had a large fanclub of her own. Though, not stated above, was that both the males next to Sakura were strong standers in the club. Sasuke was very secret about it because he knew that if something like that leaked to his fangirls, his precious Sakura could very well be harassed in all manners possible.

'S-Sakura wants to sit next to me?!' Sasuke squealed mentally. 'This is a dream come true!'

Ah, yes. I forgot to mention that Sasuke was a girl at heart when it came to romance.

Sakura nervously took the seat before her, trying to ignore the heated stares the two boys were giving each other.

"So, Sakura-chan…" Naruto began to converse, choosing his words carefully, "Who's team do you want to be on?" Sakura's eyes widened and she huddled into her coat a little more. Naruto took this as a sign that she was uncomfortable. 'Aw, crap!'

Sakura hadn't really thought about the kind of people she would be paired with. She didn't really want to. So, she was unsure as how to answer Naruto.

"I-I don't know," Sakura replied, making Naruto strain his ears at the quiet voice. Sakura sighed mentally at the face Naruto made, and guessed he couldn't hear her. Being the smart one, Sakura reached into the desk she sat at and took out the standard piece of paper and pen that was in every desk. Naruto looked at her in question as she wrote.

'**I don't know.'**was written in neat handwriting at the top of the page. Naruto made a sound in understanding.

"Well," Naruto drew out, "I hope I can be on your team!" Sakura fidgeted a little.

'What do I say to something like that?' Sakura wondered mentally to herself. She didn't want to be impolite or anything. Kurokami grunted before busying herself with some sort of activity. Sakura felt a small bead of sweat go down her neck as she tried to steady her hand to begin writing again.

Naruto watched on as he heard the 'scratch' Sakura's pen made. Inwardly he made a happy sound. 'Sakura-chan's handwriting is even cute!'

'**What happens will happen, Naruto-san.'** Sakura wrote quickly. She turned to look at him and nervously smiled slightly. The blonde felt his heart flutter a little. Sasuke felt a twinge of jealously and murmured, 'dobe,' as if to get the blonde back.

"What did you say Sasuke-teme!?" Naruto growled angrily and for some unknown reason climbed up and onto the desk to kneel in front of Sasuke. 'Gr! Stupid Sasuke! He ruined the moment!"

Sakura watched the interaction with a growing confusion. 'What? Did I miss something?'

'**A boy's heart is a confusing thing,'** Kurokami answered mysteriously, like she was trying to be useless. Sakura furrowed her eyebrows. **'I thought I would never say it, but I kinda miss being fought over.'**

During the small contemplation seminar she had with Kurokami (which proved fruitless) someone knocked Naruto into Sasuke, making the two boys fall on each other… in a most compromising position.

Fangirls screamed at the kiss as Sakura watched in confusion. Being as naïve as she, Sakura couldn't understand the huge problem. Sasuke and Naruto broke apart quickly and furiously wiped their lips. Both thought the same line at once:

'ARGH! HE STOLE MY FIRST KISS—THE ONE ESPECIALLY FOR SAKURA-CHAN!'

'**AHAHAHAHA!' **Kurokami bellowed out in humor. Sakura listened as the amused woman in her head rolled and slammed her fist on the metaphorical floor. **'I never got THAT kind of entertainment when I was in my body! HAR HA HAR!'** Sakura tensed in annoyance.

'I don't get it!'

"NARUTOoOoOo…." The enraged fangirls called forebodingly as they cracked their fists in a harmonious 'CRACK'. The gennin turned and shuddered at the angry glares. Sakura turned away from Naruto's pummeling, only to look straight into Sasuke's black eyes.

Sakura flinched and flicked her eyes back to the desk. Sasuke didn't stop staring, making Sakura blush at the intense gaze.

'Please stop staring,' Sakura thought hopelessly, like she really wanted to say it but was too bashful to.

'I could watch Sakura-chan all day…' Sasuke sighed dreamily while he stared into Sakura's ruby eyes.

"Class!" Iruka yelled, not paying any attention to the beaten up Naruto limping back into his chair. "Settle down! I'm about to read off your new squads!" The group of fresh gennin silenced quickly and waited for their instructor to give them their places. Clearing his throat, Iruka loudly began. After six teams, he finally came to the cursed Team 7.

"Team 7 will be Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura—"

"AW YEAH!" Naruto yelled as he threw his fist into the air. "I get Sakura-chan!" Sakura smiled weakly.

"—and Uchiha Sasuke."

Naruto yelled out a loud curse, making Iruka throw a blackboard eraser at Naruto's face. Sasuke smirked smugly and glanced at his 'unofficial' soon-to-be wife. 'What a perfect situation! The dobe will never stand up to my good looks!'

'I… I'll never survive…' Sakura cried mentally. Sure, she might've been able to handle Naruto by himself, but now she had to throw Sasuke into the equation… And the product didn't look good for Sakura. Kurokami began laughing at Sakura's misfortune.

By the end of class, Ino felt bad for both Sakura and herself. Sakura got the two most infatuated boys she knew of that wanted Sakura. Herself: because she got stuck with Chouji and Shikamaru… two other boys who both wanted Sakura for their own. But Ino had luck on her side! It appeared to her that Chouji was too interested in his food and Shikamaru was too lazy to chase Sakura like she was able to! Her chances were much better.

Hinata mentally cursed the person who designed the teams. She had been placed with Aburame Shino and Inuzuka Kiba. This was a team full of clan heirs, all interested in one thing: Sakura. She had some tough times ahead of herself, since she knew both boys fought with passion for what they wanted. At the moment, Hinata saw everyone as a potential threat (except Ino, since the two had some form of 

half-truce at the moment) to her own success. As far as she knew, it was quite possible that even Iruka liked Sakura in a more-than-professional way. That thought made her shiver.

"Please wait for your teachers to come and pick you up!" Iruka ordered while he left the room. The student waited, and not before long, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were the only people left in the room.

Sakura rested her head in her arms to hide her wide eyed face. 'I… I'm going to die! Definitely!'

.-.

Translations:

Yuri—girl/girl

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	3. 2: Team 7

Summary: Once upon a time in the ninja world, a sickly baby girl was born… her guardian deity saved her, but she ended up inheriting the goddess' attraction pheromone… For better or worse. Slightly AU, Saku/Almost Everyone

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Rating: T

Story Genre: General/Humor/Action-Adventure/Slight Romance, Horror, Spiritual, Angst

Chapter Genre: General/Humor

Warnings: My creepy sense of romantic humor

Page Count: 9

Word Count: 3646

Musical Inspiration: Remixes from Hyadain, tracks, music from Taiko no Tatsujin (game)

Notes: Chapter three… is finally here.

I have to admit I've been swallowed by work and such… Forgive this girl for trying to keep up on all her hobbies. Because, yes, fanfiction is a _hobby_, and does not run my life. And I've been in pain… I am a natural ball magnet in soccer. Ow. And I have now contracted the flu. Yayness.

.-.

**kakurenbo**

-Hide and Seek-

:Team 7:

_(Konoha, Academy Classroom 13, June 16__th__, 4:30PM)_

One refreshing, deep breath was taken by perturbed Sakura. The subdued anger and impatience weighted down on her weak heart from the two hours that had passed waiting for a certain jounin sensei. Sasuke sat in his own dark corner, and to Sakura it looked like he _really_ wanted to scream something, but had to hold it back. Naruto… well, Naruto wasn't as conserved as Sasuke, so he _was_ yelling some things out. Most of these things held curses in them or something else equally insulting to the man who he didn't even know the name of. The pinkette meekly watched him in mild fear, almost to the point where she closed her eyes and put her hands on her ears when a particularly nasty comment spurred from the foul blonde's mouth. Kurokami didn't actually care that much, for her long lifespan allowed her to pretty much know _every_ curse in human existence. Plus, she was amused by the squawks Naruto made.

The clock's second hand made five ticks for every five seconds. Every five seconds Sakura faintly saw Sasuke's eyebrow twitch five times. Every five seconds five curses could be heard from Naruto's tainted mouth. Once every five seconds Sakura squeaked at a particularly scathing remark. Kurokami counted on her would-be fingers how old she was, since she forgot five hundred years ago._ Niiice_.

"I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE!" Naruto screamed at the top of his lungs. In a dramatic movement, he swept the chalkboard eraser into his hands, grabbed a chair and put it next to the door, and nestled the eraser into the door's way. Almost like he knew his plan was full proof, Naruto wiped a thumb under his nose and smiled coyly. "He'll never see it coming! This is what he gets for being late!" Sasuke mumbled something Sakura couldn't quite make out, but she was sure it was something to offend Naruto, or more preferably his intelligence. Kurokami snickered.

'**Ah, a show! Humans are such useful fools to quell my boredom.'** Somewhat like the Hokage would do, Kurokami summoned a dainty pipe from midair and took a nice, long puff. Sakura refrained from shuddering slightly; the feeling of nonexistent smoke rolling in her mind was a ticklish, uncomfortable sensation that rolled up and down her spine.

"Like a jounin would fall for that," Sasuke pointed out with a sneer. Naruto glared angrily at Sasuke, making electricity travel between the two. Sakura forgot about the awkward smoke floating in her mind as she watched that two boys fill the air with hate. Or rivalry. Or some other sort of boy thing. Sakura didn't know; she was a girl. Naruto glanced at the pale skinned girl for a split second.

'He's making me look stupid in front of Sakura-chan!' Naruto accused right off the bat. A faint vein trembled on his forehead. 'No way am I letting that happen!' Smirking haughtily, the blonde looked toward Sakura again. "Sakura-chan…" he began cheerily. Sakura looked up at the tanner boy timidly. Something in the back of her mind told her something bad was going to happen. Of course, it's just her luck it's always right.

"Do you think sensei will fall for it?"

Sasuke's ear seemed to perk at the question. Naruto crossed his arms and smiled at Sakura. The lone girl stared at him for a second while her brain comprehended the strange, demanding (in a way) question.

'But… anything could happen!' Sakura whined pathetically to no one. With only a chortle from the resident goddess, Sakura gulped and looked away from Naruto's "piercing" blue eyes. Unfortunately for her, Sakura's soft ruby eyes landed on Sasuke's intense stare. The Haruno's toes curled up in distress at the even more piercing gaze. Taking a few quick breaths, Sakura whispered, "I don't like to gamble on these things." Naruto's face scrunched up from her odd answer. Sasuke looked away, but on the inside he blew a raspberry.

'Aw, I wish she would've sided with me!' he cried silently to himself. A mental projection of himself sadly looked towards Sakura with a longing sigh. Sakura's cheeks flushed from her own reply and she turned away.

"…Why?" Naruto asked dumbly, still his eyes were squinted. Sakura glanced back at him and returned to the interesting sight of a bird on a telephone wire. "I mean," the Uzumaki stuttered with a small blush, seeing the blatant show of muteness, "it's not like you have anything to lose!"

"L-luck," Sakura whispered as she poked her fingers together in a shy way, "seems to be my w-worst area…" Naruto's ears looked like they could almost stream smoke from his high brain activity. Sasuke watched the blonde in mild amusement—seeing stupid people try to think made him laugh inside. (How cruel.)

"So you mean that… your luck stinks?" Scratching his head at his own confusion, Naruto summed up his own explanation in his blockheaded way. Sakura bit her lip when she heard Kurokami almost die from laughter.

'**OH MY SELF!'** she yelled out with tears of mirth falling from her eyes. **'HE'S, HE'S TOTALLY IN THE WRONG DIRECTION! IF THERE WAS **_**ANY**_** ADJECTIVE USED FOR YOUR LUCK, IT WOULD BE GODLY!'** Naruto's guess was indeed very false. Sakura's luck had matched Kurokami's when they merged, and, since Kurokami was a god blessed by Amaterasu, her lucky stature in the world proudly matched Amaterasu's. In a simpler way of explanation: Kurokami's extremely high luck transferred to Sakura when they became one, thus Sakura's luck increased greatly. And, this (in some unforeseen way) made her… _unlucky_. Sakura did not enjoy always winning lotteries or draws, yet she won every single one of them. She usually handed back the prize, but ended up having to take her name out of the game since her name was the only name that came out. Plus chance games' fun relinquished to nothing, because her luck made her win every time.

"N-not exactly…" Sakura corrected, though it was too soft for Naruto to hear. The luck-related event quickly disappeared from their minds when a near-sounding trail of footsteps clunked their way to the door. All three gennin took a sharp intake of breath as, slowly, a grown man's gloved hand slid onto the door to slide it open. The resulting sound somewhat reminded Sakura of the bamboo clocks spread about the Haruno compound. Naruto's strong laughter filled up the silence in no time flat while he pointed—rudely—at Kakashi. Sasuke stared at the eldest man with an unbelieving tone. The lone girl's hands went up to cover what would be her mouth (the coat was already there). A strong red color spread on her cheeks. Kurokami, naturally, had a hoot out of the prank and fell over while holding her sides in glee.

"My first impression of you all…" Kakashi stated, roaming his eye over the three children. His black eye stopped in shock when it took in the sight of Sakura's adorable figure. His covered lips opened and shut like a fish's. Sakura stared back, intimidated by the strange glaze over the silver haired man's only eye.

"SQUEE!!" Kakashi squealed out loud, trampling over to Sakura and embracing her in a full body hug. "THE CUTENESS! THE ADORABILITY! IT MUST BE MIIIIIINE!" The two swayed during the one-sided hug, mostly from the obvious height difference. In the background both Naruto and Sasuke burned like angry matches, independently plotting the horrible death that would meet their new sensei. Suddenly Kakashi stopped swaying and glared at the two younger males. "I hate you two. I love Sakuranbo-chan."

Meanwhile, Sakura was almost dying from too much blood rising into her face. Kurokami attempted to keep Sakura's heart under a reasonable BPM, and she almost fell into a panic when she swore the speed Sakura's heart went would just make it stop.

'**BASTARD! Push him off Sakura!'** the goddess yelled through her concentration. The pink haired girl wiggled uncomfortably, never one to defy Kurokami's word. Kakashi noticed the small movement and let the female go, much to Kurokami's relief. Sakura fell back into a chair and breathed with difficulty. A small droplet of sweat rolled down her face. Naruto started yell and worry when Sakura continuously coughed into her hand. Sasuke literally threw Kakashi off to the side, trying to get closer to Sakura and help her in some way. Kakashi cried, knowing it was his entire fault. When the broom head ninja fell by the troubled blonde, Naruto (trying to revenge Sakura) stopped his whining and began to kick Kakashi's shins. Sasuke was wailing like a five year old inside while he comforted Sakura. Kurokami sighed and fell down on her metaphorical ass; calming Sakura's heart was another job completed.

"Sakura, you okay?" Sasuke asked lowly, not wanting to show he _actually_ had feelings. Sakura coughed weakly once or twice and held out a shaking hand.

"F-fine," she whispered with difficulty. Even though Kurokami calmed her heart, it did not mean it was an instant healing. She did have to deal with after effects. Sasuke looked at her, not believing it at all. Inwardly he blushed, outwardly he coughed; his hand was rather low on her heaving back. After another minute Sakura stood straight back up and wiped her mouth a little. Kurokami patted her back and promptly fell over in tiredness. The pinkette only mentally sighed at her condition and thanked Kurokami. Said god only mumbled something incoherent, but it was probably something along the lines of 'it was nothing'. Sasuke watched her like a hawk or another fitting bird. The stare, as usual, made Sakura nervous.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled when she stood up. He ceased his kicking, but Sasuke gladly took his place in the assault. Kakashi whimpered on the ground, because the glare the Uchiha gave was positively _frightening_. Naruto happily joined Sakura's side, and tugged lightly on her sleeve. "Hey, hey, do you feel better?" The pinkette stared at his hand with wide eyes. The blonde froze at her stare and shakily removed his hand from her arm.

'Oh my god, I _cannot_ believe I just **did** that!' Giving himself a mind-slap, Naruto scratched the back of his head.

"I… I'm okay!" Sakura grumbled to herself, not really wanting to answer the repetitive question again. She backed away from Naruto and tried herding herself her own small personal space for comfort. Roaming her clearing eyes over the three males (one of which on the floor—the other two kicking his sides), Sakura almost made a whimper. Well, she did in her mind, but not verbally.

'I… don't know if I'll make it, Kurokami!' Sakura complained. The spirit sighed at her container's woe.

"H-hey, g-guys!" Kakashi helplessly called from his position on the floor. His voice held a tint of pain from the repeating pattern of kicks to his body. He was a seasoned ninja though—it didn't hurt _that_ much. Even if they were kicking a little hard…

"Stop it," Sakura mumbled, being far too merciful to the silver haired man. Kurokami advised in a scathing tone to not let the man escape his torture, but Sakura could never keep a very good grudge for long. The two boys sent one lasting glare into Kakashi's eyes before they moved back to flank the pinkette's sides. Kakashi shakily stood, eyeing the two boys as best he could with a single eye.

"Well," he began, somehow managing to straighten his back and sound professional, "now that we've wasted copious amounts of time, let's move upward to the roof." He left in a single plume of smoke, signaling the three gennin to get to the roof of the very tall building. Seven stories, to be exact. They were on the first story. Sasuke and Naruto announced a competition with their eyes: the one who gets up to the top of the building first gets Sakura! They took off running, leaving Sakura behind with her hair flying in their manmade wind.

'**I say we take to the window,'** Kurokami mumbled, rolling her tired eyes at the two males. **'No need to strain yourself.'** Sakura nodded once to agree and lifted the window open. She was only a few feet above the ground when she climbed onto the ledge of the fixture. Spotting a corner bathed in shadow, Sakura sighed and slowly extended her hand to the corner. Her face was pulled into a concentrated façade, making her eyes seem matured and narrowed. The Haruno did not flinch or change her speed as he hand fell flat on the wall. Suddenly, like the wall had morphed into a gel-like sustenance, Sakura's hand pushed into the wall and was slowly engulfed by the shadow. The rest of her body followed after until nothing was left. Despite the slow process she had taken to entering the shadow, Sakura's round black circle that represented her location flew up the side of the wall like lightning. In a mere few seconds Sakura reached the top of the wall and in one fluent movement she escaped the shadow to leap high into the air, only to descend gently onto the roof. Kakashi was genuinely shocked when Sakura appeared like a red bird from nowhere.

"Uh." Kakashi really couldn't say much as Sakura smoothed out her jacket like it was nothing. The two boys were quick to come next, panting severely with various injuries on their bodies. Sasuke had a small scratch on his cheek, while Naruto was covered in small bruises. "You know, I'm not going to even ask." With that Kakashi ignored the two bickering boys and ordered the three to sit down on the small cement structure in front of him. The two boys sat on either side of Sakura, slightly discomforting her. The two were too involved in their glare war to actually noticed Sakura was the first one up.

"Let's start this way!" Kakashi's happy tone filled Sakura with dread. "I'll ask you all a standard question format: Name, Age, Likes, Dislikes, Hobbies, and Dreams!"

"Go first, sensei," Naruto commanded, his face darkening to a scary snarl. Sasuke, though he did not look like an animal, still seemed very imposing… like a vampire. Kakashi cleared his throat, trying to ignore the mauling looks he was receiving.

"Hatake Kakashi, 24, I like many things, I don't particularly dislike anything, I don't do much, and… dreams?" Sakura stared at the floor. A bit of Kurokami's disdain filtered through her face.

'**No information what-so-ever,'**__she mumbled dimly. **'Darn.' **Sakura didn't bother asking why such information was important to the spirit in her head.

Naruto was the first to go. His reply was very fitting of him—become the greatest Hokage and that he liked ramen and Sakura. Sasuke was very precise to his outward emotions—cold and brooding. Though at his likes, he mumbled something under his breath that sounded awfully like 'Sakura-chan'. Sakura shifted when it came to be her turn—none of the males hid their obvious stare as they waited to hear her words. Her mouth opened and closed like she was speaking but no sound came out. Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows, not knowing was exactly his love as doing. Sakura bounced her legs on the ground, glancing side to side between the two boys.

"…Haruno Sakura," she said in a normal voice. The blonde's eyes widened considerably, as this was the first time he had ever heard the pinkette speak like that. "I'm 13… I like…" Her voice gave out. Something like 'the dark' was slightly audible though. "I don't like…" Sakura seemingly just stared at her hands for a moment. Her face would've turned paler if her skin wasn't already ghastly white. Coughing a little to ward off her sudden silence, she continued, "I… I don't do much and I only want to be a good heiress!" A thick black "X" was printed over her face and she panted heavily. Naruto patted her back as she bent over, praising her for her courage to say it without stuttering. Sasuke for some reason felt proud, so he crossed his arms and stuck his chin up haughtily. Kakashi sighed at his strange team, and decided to give out the rest of the plans he had.

"Tomorrow!" he announced loudly to snatch their attentions, "We will start training tomorrow with a pass exam." Naruto squawked loudly, pointing out they had already taken an exam for that. Kakashi shook his head with a large smile. "That was just to weed out the week… After the jounin have finished this test, not even half of the gennin who passed the first test will be left." All three stared at the man in shock.

'Nooooo!' Sasuke squealed in his mind. 'If we don't pass I'll miss this opportunity to be with _my_ Sakura-chan!' His thought filtered out as a subtle twitch here and there. Naruto merely whined openly while swinging his arms around. Sakura had to bend every now and then to escape what would be a painful slap.

"Don't eat breakfast tomorrow, and I'll see you at 6! Ja!" The man disappeared in a cloud of smoke like he had earlier. Sasuke, determined to win at all costs, left promptly to plan Kakashi's death. He never noticed he left smitten Naruto alone with defenseless Sakura. Hahaha.

Naruto meekly glanced over to the heiress, who uncomfortably looked down.

'Why is everyone staring at me today?!' complained she. Her cheeks took on their customary rosy color when Naruto stumbled over his words.

"S-Sakura-chan, would you eat me with ramen?" Pure horror crossed his face after he said those words, even to the point he thought he died on the spot. Kurokami made a sound similar to gurgling as shock, absurdity, and hilarity all surged together in her throat. Sakura stared with wide eyes, totally confused about the problem.

Naruto waved his hands in front of his beet red face and tried to reattempt his question. "I meant that I want to know if you'll eat ramen with me! Oh, okay!?" Sakura's face slid back into its sweet expression. Hiding in the collar of her coat, she smiled and nodded her head. Naruto jumped up, but halted in midair when he remembered the startling amount of stairs that was left to descend. Sakura read his face easily, and meekly pushed forward.

"Naruto?" she mumbled softly, holding up her bleach white hand for him to take. Naruto held a very embarrassing squeak and took her had softly. Sakura's face erupted in bright red and dragged him over to the edge of the roof. "Don't let go, Naruto," she ordered weakly, completely unused to the exertion she went through today. The blonde nodded dumbly until he actually realized what the object of his affections was doing. In a frightful gasp he started pulling gently, but the astonishingly tight grip Sakura used kept him from pulling away.

"**Rise.**" Sakura's strong command surprised the Uzumaki with its force and deep flow. He had no more to further examine the sound, since he found himself being pulled to jump off the roof. Naruto couldn't hold back a startled yell as he fell. Sakura's face remained stoic and she stared down at the oncoming ground. They stopped falling with a soft landing that made Naruto's eyes shoot open. A pillar of shadow had risen up to catch them in a gentle, unreal cradle. It felt like steam, but at the same time it was soft to lie on. Sakura's hand rose up and glowed black. Slowly she brought it down, and once the light completely disappeared and her hand was down to her side, the platform dissipated back into the shadow it originated from.

"I-uh-what!" Naruto couldn't figure out what to say for the life of him. Sakura pretty much just controlled shadow before his eyes—an ability he never saw previously. Sakura looked away from Naruto and shuffled her feet.

"Um… M-maybe we should go a-and get something to eat now, y-yes?" Sakura slowly walked away from Naruto, who followed obediently like a canine. The two walked side by side until the ramen stand appeared in their sights. Naruto ran forward happily while Sakura kept her slow pace. She was in no mood to run.

'**Such a tiring day,'** Kurokami mentioned, glancing at Naruto's bright back. Sakura sighed and tried catching up to Naruto.

'It'll be worse tomorrow, I'm sure.'

As Sakura withstood Naruto's loud and energetic cries for food, neither noticed Sasuke standing from within the shadows, looking at Sakura with appraising eyes.

.-.

Done.

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	4. 3: Bell Fight

Summary: Once upon a time in the ninja world, a sickly baby girl was born… her guardian deity saved her, but she ended up inheriting the goddess' attraction pheromone… For better or worse. Slightly AU, Saku/Almost Everyone

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Rating: T

Story Genre: General/Humor/Action-Adventure/Slight Romance, Horror, Spiritual, Angst

Chapter Genre: Action/Humor

Warnings: Some boring stuff

Page Count: 13

Word Count: 5641

Musical Inspiration: Music by Perfume, Naruto OST,

Notes: I figured I write this now sooner than later. New artwork, by the way.

.-.

**kakurenbo**

-Hide and Seek-

:Bell Fight:

_(Konoha, Haruno City Gates, June 17__th__, 6:24AM)_

**CRRCHK-BANG!**

The expansive gates closing off the Haruno compound glided closed, sealing away one young girl's home behind its metallic confines. Sakura waved lightly to the guards posted at said structure, gracing them with a small smile before pivoting on her foot. Her face once again hid in her large collar, masking her mushroom sigh.

"Another day with Team 7," she mumbled more to herself than Kurokami. The goddess snorted in response.

'**Give up,' **she suggested, twirling a dainty pipe in her hand. **'We'll just have to put up with it until we can gain some kind of symbiotic relationship with them.'** Kurokami blew out a haze of purple smoke. Shuddering, Sakura walked forward towards the determined meeting point. The group was scheduled to meet at the red bridge connecting the Haruno land to the rest of the Leaf Village.

That's right; The Haruno land includes an island of sorts of land. Long rivers connected by many waterfalls surrounded the land, creating a many ringed moat. A great expanse of ground is contained within such a moat—so great that the Haruno compound is classified as a City. Long ago it was classified the capital of the Fire Nation before the hidden villages began piloting a stronger village-based system. Most of the Haruno family lived in this city while others chose to station themselves in other villages to keep tabs on possible threats to anything concerning Fire or the Haruno clan.

Sakura lived in the largest building of all—the Shadow Palace. True to its name, the large house stood taller than the Hokage Tower and stretched farther than one could see, enshrouded by darkness.

The girl sighed somewhat, remembering that she would one day have to face bringing her team to the palace; her parents (and the priestesses at the temple) would want to evaluate them. That wasn't going to be fun. Kurokami nodded her head in agreement.

_(Konoha, First Crimson Bridge, June 17__th__, 8:40AM)_

Sakura stood still behind the protection of an oak tree as Naruto ran around in circles, screaming like an idiot. Kakashi was at least an hour or two late, which really got on Naruto's nerves. The self-proclaimed future Hokage yelled obscenities to the heavens, hoping whoever was up there would bring divine punishment upon Kakashi's badly groomed head.

Kurokami snickered, **'obviously he doesn't know that Amaterasu takes every other Saturday off.'** Sakura sweatdropped, gripping onto the bark a little more tightly. He had… so much energy!

"H-he'll come s-soon, N-N-Naruto-san…" the pinkette offered quietly, raising her eyebrows slightly and creasing her eyes. Sasuke had been perched in the tree Sakura had been hiding in, noticing early that he could see down her collar and at her face. Inner Sasuke made a short appearance to squeal quite loudly and to blush like a schoolgirl before disappearing once more into Sasuke's mind. A wry smile tore into his face in reaction.

"He's soooooooooo-ooooh late!" complained the blonde, nearly ripping out his hair. Sakura openly stared at the boy, wondering if this would fry his brain into little crisps. Surely it didn't affect him _that_ much…

But when Sakura saw Naruto crying tears and biting his own sleeve, she thought now would be a good time for her sensei to arrive. (She didn't want to have to explain why Naruto wasn't functioning like a human being, since she knew Sasuke wouldn't care about Naruto ever.)

Kurokami rolled her eyes when said sensei appeared in a poof of smoke. That was either very good timing or their luck. Probably a mixture of both, she decided, and slid back to watch Sakura's day unfurl.

"Good morning!" he sang quite chirpily, considering that Naruto was foaming at the mouth at Kakashi's feet. The scarecrow ninja kicked the boy away swiftly, not wanting to risk being exposed to Naruto's insanity.

Naruto, in response, muttered something like, "late, late, late," over and over. Sakura did want to check on him; really, she did! She was just… wary of the odd fizz seeping out of his mouth. It didn't look healthy!

The remaining Uchiha grunted and decided to be the _'man'_ of the situation, strolling over to kick Naruto's skull. Slowly he cocked his leg backward. Kurokami chortled, awaiting the strike; Sakura did not, and winced away when the absurdly loud THUNK sounded throughout the area. Naruto screamed loudly, jolting up to cradle his head.

A lone bird flew into the sky, disturbed and petrified from the animalistic screech.

"GOOD LORD, SASUKE!" Naruto screamed out, almost tearing from pain. Sasuke held up his hands defensively, haughtily looking down at Naruto.

"No need to call me "lord," Naruto," he remarked, shaking his head. "We all know I am very awesome and can kick your butt any day." Sakura could only watch in amazement as Naruto rebounded from the kick with lightning fast reflexes to seemingly strangle the other boy to the ground. Hesitantly, she stepped away from the tree to grab onto Naruto's jacket and pull. It was much to the males' surprise when Naruto was torn away and tossed aside quite easily. Kurokami sighed and rolled her eyes; she knew that any person that came around fragile Sakura wouldn't expect such strength. What losers.

"I-I-I-I!" Sakura stuttered loudly, fretting over which boy to look over—Sasuke, whose neck wasn't the healthiest shade of black, blue, and red or Naruto, who seemed to be in shock and was lying on his back some feet away. Kakashi stared listlessly. The little girl had bite.

Definitely. Some _serious_ bite.

Coughing to not only clear his head but to also pick up his students' attentions, he announced, "Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakuranbo-chan…" His voice was stern and loud. Sakura rushed over, quickly followed by Sasuke and Naruto. Kakashi noticed a small change in their positions.

Sakura wasn't too much different, though she looked very guilty (probably for accidentally imploding Naruto's brain).

Sasuke looked like he was in heaven and kept trying to get closer to Sakura. In response she shirked away.

Naruto was fighting with himself seemingly, trying to figure out if Sakura being able to throw him so easily was a good thing or a bad one.

"Er," the jounin began nervously, reaching into his pocket, "I will explain to you the rules of this test, the Bell Test. The goal is to take these two bells from me by lunch time… The two with bells get lunch, the other doesn't." On cue, the two boys' stomachs growled loudly. Sakura squirmed in place when they all stared at her silent tummy.

"I ate b-breakf-fast," Sakura explained demurely. "Why… why would K-Kakashi-sen-sensei not want us t-to eat? Well, other than p-planning some tri-ick." Kakashi smiled proudly. She wasn't a stupid one! Sasuke grumbled and crossed his arms; he should've been keener like his future wife! Naruto was completely stricken with love and amazement. Not only was she strong and pretty, Sakura was smart too! Sakura looked from the corner of her eyes as Naruto began swooning in her direction.

"Even though you disobeyed my orders," Kakashi scolded, leering at his cute student playfully, "I guess I can give you Brownie points for being smarter than these two blockheads. Anyway, on top of not getting lunch, the person who lacks a bell by the end of this test will not continue to gennin rank and will take an additional year at the academy!" The way he shouted it made this penalty sound like a prize. The three graduates gulped… they would not, could not lose! "This timer will ring once the time is up, kids," Kakashi said, placing a white timer on a rock behind him coupled with three bento boxes. "Start now!"

'**All right!'** Kurokami exclaimed loudly as Sakura leapt away faster than the eye could see in the opposite direction of Sasuke. **'Finally! Some action! How I've longed for some fighting!'** Sakura minded her savior carefully.

'Watch yourself, Kurokami,' she gently advised, turning to watch Kakashi and Naruto, neither of whom had moved. It didn't surprise her very much, since Naruto was known for his idiotic tactics. 'Though you may be a goddess, your roots still remain in demonic territory. I can't have you lose yourself here and now.' The black haired goddess twisted her pinky finger in her ear in mock annoyance.

'**No worries,'** the woman chirped, smiling widely. **'I've survived without human tribute for centuries! There is no way that I could be is instigated by this cute little "fight".'** Sakura sighed.

"I'm not using weapons," Kakashi announced, still standing boredly. Naruto was confused, but figured that any advantage he could get would help. The blonde reached into his pocket and Kakashi's response was to reach into his own.

Naruto squawked and held a kunai out defensively. "You said no weapons!" Kakashi chuckled and whipped out a bright orange book. Just by seeing the large, red restricted circle Sakura knew what that book was about. Well, not completely—she just knew it was adult-oriented. Kurokami explained it very loosely, trying not to destroy her host's innocence.

"A book is not a weapon," justified Kakashi. Naruto growled and charged forward, attempting to slash Kakashi with his kunai. Sakura watched Kakashi's moves closely, knowing full well she'd have a small chance unless she could, A) collect information on his fighting style, B) get help from Kurokami, or C) seriously hurt Kakashi. She had no intention on doing that, even if the grown man had nearly killed her yesterday.

'**Just watch closely!'** Kurokami commanded, paying her own attention to Kakashi. **'This guy has high chakra levels, which means he can deal out an array of large jutsu. He's a seasoned ninja, obviously. Though he won't stand a chance against a goddess and goddess-to-be, I don't think you want to take him down using such conventional methods.'**

Sakura smiled for a split second and blushed. 'I thank you for your help, but I want to fight on my own. And,' Sakura toned down slightly, even though she was speaking telepathically and could not be heard outside, 'I can't have people knowing you reside in me. Mother already explained what would happen to us…' She gasped slightly when Naruto was caught by Kakashi from behind.

The silver haired man smirked haughtily. He was crouched from behind Naruto, and held up his hands in a seal. Both Sasuke and Sakura realize the seal was the Tiger seal, a handsign used for stronger fire techniques.

"Watch out, Naruto!" Sasuke yelled, revealing himself from his hiding spot. "He's going to…"

"My most powerful attack!" Kakashi yelled loudly, poising his hands right behind Naruto. "ULTIMATE TECHNIQUE: THOUSAND YEARS OF PAIN!"

Time seemed to stop for everyone there. Sasuke and Sakura openly gaped, Kurokami almost wet herself, and Naruto held a pain stricken, confused, and violated expression. Kakashi's fingers in his butt **were not comfortable**.

With power no one had been expecting, Naruto flew off and into the water nearby. Time restarted for the other two adolescents with Sasuke realizing he just gave his location away for an _extremely deadly ass-poke._ He leapt away promptly. Sakura hid her face in her hands. This was the most horrifying thing she'd ever experienced in her life. How could such a technique exist?!

Kurokami continued to suffocate from laughter—Sakura worried that the goddess would die.

"THAT HURT!" Naruto screamed, jumping out from the water with a group of shadow clones. Sakura inhaled sharply. Kakashi wasn't expecting such a move from Naruto! By using a taijutsu-strict attack pattern, Naruto was able to catch Kakashi in a sleeper hold. Right when Naruto boasted his win, the Kakashi transformed into another Naruto, sending the small flurry of Uzumaki's into an all-or-nothing brawl. Kakashi had disappeared, Sakura knew, when every clone was destroyed. Only a battered Naruto was left.

The blonde groaned and rubbed his bruised face. Kakashi had pulled an extremely dirty trick on him. "Unfair!" he complained to himself, walking over to a tree to steady himself. He gasped happily upon reaching that tree; there was a bell lying in the grass, right for him to take!

'Super lucky!' he sang to himself, reaching for the golden chime. Sakura's keen eyes saw the trap immediately. Without thinking she ran forward, pleading for the boy to stop. Kurokami sighed an wiped a tear from her eye, only to fall over once more when Naruto, not hearing Sakura's caution, reached down to pluck the bell and ended up hanging from a trick wire. Kakashi appeared not so long afterward to obtain his bell. Sakura instinctively jumped and clutched onto a tree.

'What's he going to do to him?!' Sakura wondered frantically, staring with wide eyes. Kakashi descended gracefully, smiling evilly. Producing an ice cube from Kurokami-knows-where, he slipped it down Naruto's jacket. The boy could do nothing, as he was tied up.

"Penalty for being a total idiot; ice cube down the shirt!" Naruto squealed like a pig, withering to and fro. Sakura merely rested her forehead against the bark of the tree. This… everything was just completely hopeless. Kakashi poofed off once more and after a minute of watching Naruto squirm, Sakura ran out of hiding. She dragged her hand across a shadowed section of the tree, scraping out a kunai made of a blacker substance than a standard kunai. She flicked it at the rope captivating Naruto and squeaking pitifully as the boy fell with a loud crash.

"N-Naruto-san!" she cried apologetically, holding out her hands. The boy was up quickly, clutching the back of his head with a gritted grin. "I didn't mean f-for th-that to happen!" Naruto laughed loudly, suddenly overcome by a dark and vengeful aura. Sakura nearly fainted right then and there. Her face exploded into tomato red and she jumped back to protect herself. What was going on?!

"Kaaaa-kaaaa-shiiiiii…" Naruto threateningly drawled lowly, glaring out at the forest. He dashed forward in an unexpected move, screaming, "I'LL KILL YOU AND THEN DISMEMBER YOU AND KILL YOU AGAIN!" His screaming faded as he ran farther from the small clearing Sakura was in. The pinkette was walking the thin line of unconsciousness and fright by this time. Naruto quickly turned into a brand of frightful demon in her mental view, roaring and clawing at a small doll of Kakashi.

Kurokami stared as well, trying to name the mental states of the ninja in present time. **'Just keep walking Sakura. Just… keep walking.' **The goddess sighed, **'We've wasted enough time as it is. No more watching, okay? Those bells need to be in our hands soon.'**

Sakura nodded, taking large steps despite her shy exterior. If there was anything she could say about herself that wasn't shy, it was her stride. Thanks to her long legs and strong muscles, the Haruno could walk quickly (a useful tool for escaping embarrassing situations). 'But, Kurokami, haven't you noticed?' The questioned being turned her ears toward Sakura, eyeing her descendant with strikingly bright, blood red eyes.

'**Is it about the fact there are only two bells?'**

'Y-yeah… I just can't, well… I don't believe he can seriously base our skills on this kind of exercise.'

Kurokami regarded the girl with speculating eyes. **'Explain.'**

'Think about it;' Sakura quietly suggested, peering around a tree to see if Kakashi or anyone else was nearby, 'that test we took in the academy days ago was our physical exam… What's the point of having another one? Especially now that he's pitting us against each other, I question him. We're in a cell of three, not operating as single units.' Kurokami rolled this idea in her mind for a moment.

'**You're right. We should be working together, not against each other. The goal of this test isn't for strength... It's teamwork. That's why there is a bell missing.' **Kurokami smiled like the Cheshire cat. **'He wants to see if any of us can actually figure out the meaning of this exercise.'**

Sakura gasped to herself. 'Naruto is much too simple-minded to realize this! Sasuke, though strong, is very unreasonable in group work!' She didn't even realize that she had insulted both her teammates.

_(Konoha, Unknown Location in Morning's Forest, June 17__th__, 10:15AM)_

Naruto sneezed randomly. At the back of his mind he wondered what that had come from. Quickly, the feeling that he had just been offended somewhere else rose up his spine.

'That was weird,' Naruto mumbled. He growled angrily, 'It was probably that stupid Sasuke! Just wait, Sasuke… I'll get you, become Hokage, _and_ marry Sakura-chan!'

_(Konoha, Unknown Location in Morning's Forest, June 17__th__, 10:16AM)_

Sasuke was running quickly, trying to locate his teacher, when suddenly he sneezed violently. Confusion swept over his body—he knew that when someone sneezed, they were being thought about somewhere else. Smirking, he automatically fantasized it being Sakura, wishing for his well-being and strength. With new courage and determination he jumped to the next tree.

'I'll fight for you everyday, Sakura-chan!' he promised to himself, resisting the urge to yell loudly and raise his fist into the air valiantly. (He was **SASUKE;** he couldn't just _do_ those things!)

_(Konoha, Unknown Location in Morning's Forest, June 17__th__, 10:32AM)_

Sakura sighed, stopping on a tree to catch her breath and calm her heart. She had been running around for countless minutes, trying to ascertain her sensei's whereabouts. She had refused using celestial detection as Kurokami had offered.

Earlier, after the conclusion of the test's true meaning, Sakura gave up all hope on passing. Sasuke would never give his pride and work with her and Naruto and Naruto would definitely refuse working with Sasuke. Though she knew Naruto wouldn't mind cooperating with her, Sakura refused the prospect. He lacked the skill of _standing still_ and _having brains _that she needed for this to work.

'Kakashi's probably just letting me run in circles,' Sakura guessed, frowning in defeat. 'He has more than enough talent to hide from me.'

'**Then use what I gave you and find him!' **Kurokami whined. She really wanted for Sakura to experience battle at least once today! Sakura refused once more, jumping down from her tree.

She supposed it was fitting irony that Kakashi appear behind her at that exact moment.

Shivers ran down her spine due to the closeness of her teacher's body to hers; when he bent down to whisper something in her ear she nearly died.

"Aren't you going to try and get a bell?" he muttered, dangling a single trinket in font of her face. "You haven't fought me yet."

"T-t-t-t-t-t-there's n-no p-p-po-po-point!" Sakura struggled to say. Kakashi made an inquiring sound and urged her to continue. The pinkette screwed her eyes closed and tried her best to ignore her elder. "The b-bells are distractions," she began slowly, "to m-make us for-forget the true purpose o-of this test. We are grouped in-into three m-man groups f-for a reason—to w-work together to accomplish our g-goal. The m-missing bell creates stress in these t-ties, K-Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi had known from his records of his students that Sakura was a smart girl that shown talent in many areas, but he hadn't expected her to actually unveil his trick. Originally, he had imagined her to be like every other ninja and go for the bells like ordered and deal with the repercussions afterward, but she proved him wrong and analyzed the meaning of the test.

Now, he only had one more thing to judge her on. Her fighting skills.

And he had the perfect set up for it.

"So, you broke the code," Kakashi praised lowly, moving away from Sakura. "Nice job. But, you know, Sasuke wasn't as lucky." Sakura opened her eyes quickly and turned to look at him. Unluckily for her she was a centimeter from his face, so when she turned, she nearly bumped noses with him. The older man disappeared without much delay, and Sakura swore she saw a line of red under his one eye.

'OH MY GOD, I WAS SO CLOSE TO SAKURA!!!' Kakashi screamed mentally as he appeared in the clearing with Sasuke's head just poking out of the ground. The boy growled angrily, to which Kakashi held a finger to his masked lips. "Hush, I'm waiting for Sakuranbo-chan." Sasuke squawked in an unsightly manner at the thought of Kakashi fighting with Sakura.

"He has Sasuke!" Sakura gasped, turning in the direction she had traced Kakashi to. She had noticed his chakra signature quickly and memorized it—it wasn't leading very far away. Kurokami humph-ed and ushered the girl to run. She would promise to protect Sakura's heart if the girl ran as fast as she could. "Okay," she whispered, leaning to prepare herself for the initial push. An onlooker who was not seasoned ninja could not see Sakura's strong dash forward. The girl propelled herself with as much strength as necessary.

'**I don't think he would do too much to Sasuke,'** Kurokami muttered as she watched the greenery around her fly past. Sakura nodded in agreement, pivoting flawlessly to change direction left. It only took her a minute to skid into the clearing Sasuke was trapped in and Kakashi was waiting. The man had hid himself and his chakra, so Sakura wasn't completely sure he was there. When she spotted Sasuke neither Sakura nor Kurokami laughed or looked strangely… Actually, Sakura did, a little, but she quickly shook the feeling away. Sasuke's _head_ needed rescuing.

"S-Sasuke, are y-you okay?" the heiress asked meekly, digging a little around the boy's neck with her white hands. The Uchiha was speechless for a moment, inwardly floating on Cloud 9.

"I'm fine," he bit out aggressively, looking away to the side. Sakura winced at the harsh voice and faltered in her work, but regained composure. The black-haired teen winced as well, but not as visibly; he did not mean to sound so cruel. If he intended to make her his loving wife, then he couldn't treat he like that!

Inner Sasuke shook his fist, muttering curses at the façade he was forced to put up with.

"Sakura…" Sasuke began, intending to apologize for his rude behavior. What his next words were defied his intentions by far, "…watch out!" Sakura looked like a deer in headlights. "Behind you!"

Kakashi had jumped out from the tree behind them and was aiming a strike at Sakura's back. The young girl barely dodged in time, turning to the left. Kakashi's fist crashed into the ground right in front of Sasuke's face. Sakura prepared herself as best she could. She tried her hardest to stand tall, but she couldn't help but cringe. Kurokami growled at the man for using a dirty move.

"You have proved your intelligence, Sakura!" Kakashi bellowed, standing in a fighting position. "Figuring out my plan is commendable… now show me you can fight to back it up!" Sakura squeaked and jumped back to avoid a jab from her teacher.

'Oh,' Sakura moaned. Kurokami didn't reply as she was too focused on the girl's heart.

'**Fight him,'** the goddess ordered. There was no emotion in her voice. **'I'll watch your heart. He wants you to prove yourself, so go ahead and do it!'** Even though Sakura put all her trust in Kurokami, she still had weak knees. Try against Kakashi of all people?

"Sakura…" Sasuke whispered and stared wide eyed at the girl who seemed to only remain on the defensive. He had never seen her in action before, so watching her dodge at lightning fast speeds amazed him. "Come on, Sakura!" The girl looked at him, hearing his small cry with her delicate ears. So, even Sasuke would root for her? Sakura had no time to dwell on that fact as she just missed Kakashi's foot in her stomach.

'I need to go on the defensive,' she realized. Defense wouldn't win her any battle, no matter how fruitless and forced it was. 'Okay then, I know that Kakashi-sensei favors his right hand when punching, so it must be his stronger hand.' Get rid of the hand, get a better chance, she supposed. She waited for Kakashi to swing once more and didn't have to wait long. As Kakashi's hand sailed toward her, Sakura showed her amazing acrobatic talent and bent backward, dragging her hand through her own shadow to produce those dark kunai. Kakashi stilled for a moment, at Sakura's nearly impossible move—a very costly accident on his part.

"Don't stop!" Sakura whispered out fearfully, the momentum of her body turning propelling the weapons toward Kakashi. Two missed and one hit its mark of Kakashi's right arm. The man hissed in pain as the kunai ran through his arm, leaving a large cut. He was confused though, when the stinging persisted and a black smear covered most of the wound.

"What?" the broom-head ninja questioned, trying to keep an eye on the wound and Sakura. The girl leapt back.

"It's c-called Black Kunai," she answered, kicking at the ground behind her. From her shadow five more kunai emerged, having enough air-time to give Sakura a chance to catch them in her hands. "It's made f-from the shadows and a Haruno technique." Sasuke stared, open mouthed. Sakura had enough strength to hurt Kakashi?! He had not even been able to scratch the jounin! Sakura sighed and apologized. "S-sorry, but the stinging will l-last until I w-wish it to." Kakashi smirked.

"I forgot about your family," he muttered, eyeing the girl. Sakura looked away and weakened her stance. Kakashi took this chance and dashed forward to sweep Sakura's feet from under her. The girl hadn't been expecting this move and was sent falling to the ground. Thankfully for her, the sun was shifting and the shadows were being cast longer. Sakura was able to twist herself enough to touch a nearby shadow, which was all she needed.

Sasuke scrutinized this change in her fall, and realized that she was planning to do something similar to yesterday. Kakashi didn't know about this did he? Apparently not, for when Sakura disappeared by seemingly being "eaten" by the shadow, Kakashi faltered. The black circle that Sakura was represented by flew behind the Hatake. Sasuke watched it carefully and opened his eyes wide in shock when Sakura's arms lifted out from the ground and clasped Kakashi's ankles. The grown man sputtered and was dragged into the ground. His predicament was eerily similar to Sasuke's.

Sakura leapt from the ground quickly. To continue the never ending parade of surprises, she held up the bells, one in each hand. Kakashi chuckled.

"You're definitely strong," he admitted, playfully glaring at Sakura. "Too bad you didn't notice this!" The trapped Kakashi disappeared in a plume of smoke, systematically followed by the bells. Sakura's motionless face melted into tiredness and upset. She missed his illusion…

"That…" Sasuke breathed out, staring admirably at his future bride, "was amazing." Though his compliment was completely outlandish for him to say, Sakura accepted it nervously. She was panting quite hard by the time she had unearthed Sasuke and had to rely on his shoulder for support.

'**You did well,'** Kurokami admitted, though she held some disappointment in her voice. **'You should've noticed that illusion though. We're going to work on your genjutsu.' **Sakura sighed emptily, feeling as if she completely deserved the training. **'Don't worry, though. You managed to show you teacher that you can hold your own.'**

'But still,' she returned, 'I could've done better… and I'm really tired.' Sakura counted her heartbeat, paranoid. Kurokami ensured that it was fine. Sakura lost count as the ringer for the end of the test rang out loudly.

"We couldn't even get a bell," Sasuke growled out. He didn't realize the meaning of the test either, Sakura noted thought she had already known Sasuke wouldn't figure it out. "Let's go," Sasuke offered, speeding up his pace.

_(Konoha, Center of Morning's Forest, June 17__th__, 12:05PM)_

Sakura didn't really expect Naruto to be tied on a log when she and Sasuke had entered the clearing. The blonde squiggled and struggled fruitlessly against his restraints. Kakashi sat comfortably on the rock with the timer and bento, watching as Sasuke gently set Sakura down. Naruto seemed like he would kill Sasuke at any moment. Sakura simply rested.

"As you can see, Naruto cheated," Kakashi explained, holding up a single bento. "And I have some news. You all…" The three graduates looked up at the man expectantly. "Fail!" Kurokami and Naruto both yelled out loudly (though Kurokami's vulgar comment was unheard of by most of the people there). Sasuke stood up angrily and threw a punch at Kakashi. The older male easily subdued the boy by crossing his arms over his back and pushing his head into the ground with a foot.

"You can't be serious!" Naruto complained. Sakura remained silent and thought over this information.

"Sakura was the only one out of you three that actually took the time to think about the test," Kakashi angrily explained. "This test was not about getting two stupid bells… It was to test your ability with teamwork! Teamwork is what gets a squad through missions! For example…" Kakashi took out a kunai and held it at Sasuke. "Sakura, kill Naruto or I'll murder Sasuke!" Sakura jumped back, back straight as wood. Sasuke stared at the girl as did Naruto. Her face reddened deeply. Kakashi sighed and returned his weapon to its holster.

"There is always a chance of this happening during a mission," Kakashi informed. "One of you may even be forced to leave the others to get your mission finished. But for the coward that runs from his teammates is worse than trash!" Kakashi released Sasuke. The boy scrambled back to his pole. The teacher eyed the lone Uchiha carefully. "This stone behind me is the Memorial Stone. Great ninja's names are inscribed on this rock…"

"My name will be there one day!" Naruto yelled out, taken by the fact strong ninja were written down on that rock. Kakashi stilled.

"The ninja on here were either killed in action or went missing." Naruto shut up quite quickly and looked away. Sakura placed her hands in a quick prayer. Kakashi breathed a few times and continued speaking.

"Sasuke! You can't refuse help! Nothing will be accomplished if all you do is turn people down. Learn to work with other people." Sasuke looked away with an unknown expression on his face.

"Naruto! You have an issue with charging forward and not thinking beforehand! If you don't stop to think about situations carefully, you'll never become Hokage!" Naruto furrowed his eyebrows and looked at the ground.

"S-Sakura," Kakashi pitifully began. He could not keep an angry resolve when Sakura held such large, glistening ruby eyes. "Even though you might've been able to figure out this test was on teamwork, you shouldn't have just given up hope like that. You need to believe in yourself more!" Sakura twiddled her fingers pathetically. Kakashi sighed. "How about this… I'll give you and Sasuke your lunches and we'll try again later. Naruto must not be given anything to eat! If you do, I'll send you to the academy **permanently**." With a cheerful smile the man disappeared. Sakura was speechless, turning to stare at the broken hearted Naruto.

"I… I don't need it!" declared the Uzumaki bravely. His stomach made it clear that the boy was lying. Sakura frowned and looked meekly from Sasuke to Naruto. Was she going to have to do it?

Sasuke pushed his food in front of Naruto's face indifferently. "You need to eat, idiot. We're going to need your strength if Kakashi's going to put us through another test." Naruto looked like he was going to cry his face was so pained. Sakura gently pushed Sasuke's food back to him and held a sample of hers to Naruto. Naruto was really going to cry now.

"I ate b-breakfast," Sakura stated once more. "I c-can handle n-not eating a little." Naruto's eyes exploded into hearts and he opened his mouth so that Sakura could give him the food. Right as the chopsticks were to enter his mouth, Kakashi appeared with a dark countenance and stormy weather. Lightning flashed behind him.

"**YOU DARE GIVE NARUTO FOOD WHEN I SAID NOT TO?!**" Kakashi shouted deeply. The three stood very still. "If that is the case… Then…" Pausing for dramatic effect, he finished, "you pass!" The three were silent.

Sakura seemed half dead and was clutching to her pole as a means of support. Naruto was going to wet himself. Sasuke held his face in his hands. The two boys finally let it settle in. Naruto tried jumping in happiness, shouting and crying joyfully. Sasuke smirked and crossed his arms. The only girl of the group tried smiling, but it came out broken.

"Let's go get some lunch," Kakashi sang, beginning to walk away. Sasuke got up to follow him and helped Sakura stand. Naruto yelled distressed words when he realized they forgot to untie him.

"Hey, guys! GUYS! HELP ME!!"

.-.

-laughs hollowly- It's here and finished. I'm so tired.

Reviewers:

Kon Bubble Blaster **(x3)**

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Inkaide


	5. 4: Nightmare Rose

Summary: Once upon a time in the ninja world, a sickly baby girl was born… her guardian deity saved her, but she ended up inheriting the goddess' attraction pheromone… For better or worse. Slightly AU, Saku/Almost Everyone

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Rating: T

Story Genre: General/Humor/Action-Adventure/Slight Romance, Horror, Spiritual, Angst

Chapter Genre: Horror/Humor/Slight Romance

Warnings: Sasuke thinks he's a knight fighting an Ino-dragon.

Page Count: 16

Word Count: 6614

Musical Inspiration: Nightmare (Artist: M2U), Oblivion (Artist: ESTi), Love Bug (Artists: m-flo feat. BoA)

Notes: Time to explore the Haruno City!

.-.

**kakurenbo**

-Hide and Seek-

:Nightmare Rose:

.-.

_(???, ???, June 18th, 1:57AM)_

Sakura knew that wherever she was right now, it wasn't home.

Sakura knew that wherever she was right now, she shouldn't be here.

No one should ever be "here"… wherever "here" is.

The girl stood alone on a large platform of what seemed to be glass that rose up from the depth if this place and upturned into the form of a large rose. She looked down, surprised to find that instead of her usual wear, she adorned a plain white dress that fell to her ankles and reached her wrists. Freely, it waved and swirled around her ankles. Sakura was unable to see her feet as a thick, black fog filled the glass rose. The fog fell through any cracks in between the petals, creating a morbidly beautiful waterfall.

"Where am I?" the pinkette wondered aloud, uncomforted by the tremendous echo her pitifully soft voice managed to create. Wincing slightly, she trotted through the fog with minor difficulty (it was as consistent as it looked: thick and soft) to the edge of the inside of the rose. It was more like a bud, Sakura realized as she neared the wall; the rose had not blossomed in this blackness. As she looked down she could not help but gasp helplessly.

'Wh-where's the floor?!' she wondered, eyeing the deep trench surrounding her. There was nothing but blackness all around the rose. Everything—if there was anything—was hidden by shadows and mist. Sakura had no idea how she was seeing in this inky darkness.

Suddenly, the silence was broken by a creeping, warped voice. The Haruno had no idea of what to make of it, it was so unordinary and peculiar. It sounded similar to a reversed message in the way the words were said, but at the same time it was extremely fast and resembled gibberish.

"**Sakura!"** Kurokami yelled, appearing on the outside of the large flower. The called girl ran over to her guardian, feebly pressing up against the glass. Just as she prepared to ask the woman a question, the black haired beauty screamed at her in panic. **"Run, Sakura! Run, now! Amaterasu **_**dammit**_**, I knew this was going to happen! Sakura, you deaf little shrimp; I said RUN!!"** The voices suddenly began to speak so quickly they transformed into a screech of sorts, now managing to shrilly make out words, some in Chinese and some in Japanese.

"_HE'S COMING FOR YOU!"_

"THERE'S NO HIDING NOW!"

"**MOVE!"** Kurokami screeched louder than the voices shrieking around them, pounding the petal of the rose and cracking it. Sakura stared for a moment and began to run in the other direction once a very large splinter appeared in the assaulted rose petal. The ground rumbled, as if a great earthquake shook the place. The pinkette stumbled to and fro, clumsily trying to keep her balance and failing horribly. Meeting the ground with a large crash, Sakura groaned. She peered down for a moment, sealing her unknowing fate.

Two large eyes stared back up at her, glaring a bright yellow. The pupils were white with black lining around them and resembled a cat's or a snake's. The girl recoiled in horror, unable to draw her gaze from the strange eyes. The eyes narrowed slightly and completely shut, disappearing into the darkness beneath her. A breath Sakura had not realized she had been holding escaped from her trembling lips.

"What was that…?" whispered she quite weakly. The intensity those eyes held was greater than even Sasuke's sight; those eyes held horror deep inside their slit pupils and golden irises. Kurokami yelled for her to stand and jump away, causing the pinkette to look back down at the floor momentarily. To her unending horror, the golden orbs returned, this time accompanied by a white mouth. She could only see the silhouette of the obviously fanged mouth. Unexpectedly, the middle of the rose bud began to twist open in a clockwise direction. Sakura began slipping into the glass stem, hopelessly looking upward at Kurokami, who was disdainfully biting her lip from the outside of the petal she had been swinging so angrily upon.

"**Don't look, Sakura,"** the goddess whispered painfully. **"Don't look. Dammit, I'm not letting **_**him**_** get you…" **Sakura screamed for her savior, pressing her back against the wall of the stem and pushing up using her feet. Her prison of a cylinder began to twist and warp to mold around Sakura, causing her to drop. The pinkette gave up screaming Kurokami's name, and settled for just screaming as she fell. All around her there was nothing; she wanted something, _anything_ to be there, to comfort her in the descent. Closer, closer still was she to the gaping white mouth that tore and disrupted the shadow of nothing.

'That is there,' Sakura soullessly thought, staring down. She had very little time to wait until the mouth enveloped her whole.

"**YOU'RE NOT GETTING HER!!" **Kurokami howled, hatred growing steadily in her blood irises. An incantation would only temporarily delay _his_ influence, but the goddess of shadow knew she had to do something, _anything_ to keep Sakura with her, to keep Sakura away from _him_.

"_**O' spirit that keeps holds the lock,**_

_**O' spirit that hides the key,**_

_**I pledge to thee my will and voice…"**_

The distance was much shorter, now. Sakura smiled slightly, the light leaving her eyes.

"_**Disturb thy partner,**_

_**Close the door,**_

_**Stop the rush of wind…"**_

'Is this peace?' Sakura wondered faintly, closing her eyes. The light the mouth was using to show itself was too strong for her sensitive rubies. Kurokami twitched as she watched her descendant succumb to the affects she was quite familiar with. She cursed the length of the spell.

"_**Seal thy secret, seal thy enemy!**_

_**Awaken by my call!**_

_**Captive of the Key Spirit!**__**"**_

As the words rolled from Kurokami's powerful tongue, the still air in the place began to blow and whip around the rose structure. The wind began to thicken and turn pale yellow, quite akin to the pages of an old book. The form of a woman appeared briefly and time slowed. She had no coloring but the tarnished yellow of the clouds around her. Her dress was made of the clouds surrounding her, as was her hair and ultimately her body. A key was gently grasped within her dainty hands; it was large enough to merit both her hands to grasp the handle and teeth. Her hands, though, were very cautious of the wide, demonic eye that encompassed the center of the handle piece.

"_Who is it that you desire to be locked by my key?"_ the girl asked without moving her mouth. The key's eye focused on Kurokami. The goddess paid no heed to the girl and instead stared intently upon the key's single pupil.

"**Key spirit,"** Kurokami addressed formally. The key's pupil rolled.

"_Hausseling, please._" Kurokami squinted and quickly looked over to Sakura, frozen right before the mouth due to the slowing of time.

"**Seal the owner of the mouth down there, now."** To show the duo, she motioned at the gaping mouth, just barely grazing Sakura's bare foot. The girl nodded, took hold of the key, and flew down to the mouth. She held out the key and swiftly stuck it gruesomely into one of the yellow eyes. The action ruptured the time flow; time fast forwarded and resumed. The mouth screeched like an animal would and flexed in inhumane directions. The girl twisted the key as if she was unaware of the tremendous roar. Sakura awoke from her apathetic state from the great howl and screamed when she saw how close she was to the face. Key was forcefully ripped from eye when the girl removed the spirit from the yellow iris. The face made one last shrill before twisting and folding out of existence. Sakura sighed, her heart pounding far too quickly and hardly for her tolerance. She choked on her breath and her eyes rolled to the back of her head; her strength left her and she fell through the stem and into the dark abyss of the place.

The girl looked back up at Kurokami and announced this time with her own lips, _"On the twenty-fifth day the seal will break and the prisoner will be released."_ Kurokami nodded with smoldering eyes and promptly disappeared to tend to Sakura's flittering heart.

"_Let us go, Hausseling,"_ the girl said in monotone. The eye on the key creased when she pressed the key gently to her modest breasts.

"_Okay, Tollund,"_ Hausseling replied and the clouds quickly dispersed in a manner similar as Kurokami.

_(Konoha, Haruno City, Shadow Palace, Fifth Wing, June 18__th__, 6:37AM)_

Sakura awoke with a start, her chest being the first part of her to lift off the bed. She coughed and wretched, trying to squirm her way to the red button at the side of her bed. With a clumsy slap, she was able to press the button and relax. She had alerted the entire compound of her sudden heart collapse with that little click and help would come rushing in faster than lightning in a second.

**KRCCHHH-RIP!**

Make that half a second—her paper walls were quickly mowed down and suddenly she found herself lying down on her bed with three hands prying at her nightshirt, trying to rip it off as gently yet as quickly as possible to gain access to her withering heart. With a fluent move, one smart emergency doctor was able to cut open her shirt straight down the middle. That one doctor seemed very proud of himself, even smirking in a manner that reminded Sakura of Sasuke. The pinkette's head lolled to the side weakly and her breathing thinned from her devastating pants—the doctors had to work quickly. The pink circle that was usually hidden behind the heiress' bangs glowed faintly, signaling Kurokami's working status. The doctors quickly dispersed their chakra into the girl's chest, wrapping it around her heart and lungs soothingly. The erratic beating of the young girl's heart began to disperse into a normal, slower pattern. Breathing became much easier for Sakura to do—evidently the red in her face from lack of oxygen began to fade into a strong pink.

"_Sakura-sama_," the male doctor that had cut off her shirt gently called, rubbing her forehead lightly and wiping some of the sweat from her face. The rest of the doctors broke off their chakra and retreated. The cutter of a doctor and a female doctor stayed behind to help Sakura up off the bed.

"_S-so… Sorry…_" she breathlessly apologized, rolling her head to look and them easier. The female doctor cried dramatically, hand placed on her forehead and all. The male doctor looked at her pointedly.

"_Sakura-hime_!" she wept, swinging over to stare at the girl. Her uncommonly large breasts hung awkwardly between the two women; the male doctor sighed tiredly. "_My dear princess! You nearly died! UWAHAH!_" Sakura stared helplessly, trying to avoid the Tsunade-worthy cleavage.

"_M-Musumane-san, please…_" Sakura struggled, trying to get up. She really needed to get up—she had a date with Ino and Hinata today! They had been neglecting each other due to their occupations, and somehow they were granted a free day for relaxation.

Musumane's right eyebrow twitched. "_Because I am not only your personal doctor, confidant, and nurse, but your secretary as well, I know of your plans for the day…_" The woman slyly glanced over at Sakura's date pad on top of her desk and read the neatly written syllabus. "_…Ino and Hinata will have to skip the cake and come here!_" Sakura looked like she had just been informed of the world's end. The male doctor just kept staring at the woman.

"_Musumane, really…_" His eyes expressed pity and a sense of woe. Musumane stomped her foot and the foundation of the room shook, scaring Sakura and making her yelp.

"_Dan-dan-chan!_" she complained, tugging on his sleeve. The man glared at her with his dull gray eyes expectantly. Musumane bit her lip and muttered, "_Danpen-chan_." Danpen stared at the tall woman with a raised brow.

"_Ex-excuse me…"_ Sakura muttered… failing to get up. No matter how hard she tried. Musumane cried and pointed at Sakura.

"_See?! She needs to stay here!_" Danpen ran a hand through his dark blue hair tiredly. The woman just never was quiet. Musumane helped Sakura out of bed, turning gentle in a fraction of a second. Once the girl was placed down on the floor and could stand, the blonde, busty woman changed back to her usual, hyper self. "_By the power invested in me by your father, I proclaim that you are under city arrest and all your friends must come!_"

"_Wha-wha-wha…_"

"_Dan-dan-chan! Go now and phone Sakura's friends…_" Musumane looked back over to Sakura's logbook. "_…Hinata, Ino, Naruto, and Sasuke!_" Danpen stared at the woman for a long time, wondering if she was going to really go against Sakura's wishes. The blonde glared at him expectantly, pointing to the door and grunting.

"…_Fine, fine. Sorry, Sakura-hime-sama._" The man left the room with a hunched back and a fed up frown. Musumane smirked triumphantly and plated herself in the rolling chair next to Sakura's bed. Dejectedly, the pinkette flopped down on her bed with a sigh.

'_Kurokami…_'

'_**Yes?'**_

'…_This kind of sucks.'_

Kurokami laughed at Sakura's bluntness in her words. Even the sweet heiress needed to complain every now and then.

_(Konoha, Haruno City Gates, June 18__th__, 12:05PM)_

Ino sighed at Sasuke's and Naruto's amazed gasps. Yes, she knew the Haruno City gates were very large, and yes, they were very interesting and shiny, but did _everyone_ that saw them have to gawk?

The gates were at least three stories high and made from beautiful silver. They were half-arches that came together to make one large arch. Bars ran down from the top to the bottom, creating a prison-like aura. In the center of the great structure was a huge, white ring that would crush the four gennin beneath it if it fell easily. Left of the circle was the Chinese writing of "Haruno", while the right held the Japanese kanji. Under the ring a single character stood for "darkness".

"Yo, Jimenju!" Ino screeched at the top of her lungs to the right tower guard. The black haired man bent over and waved yelling back.

"Hey Ino-san! Are you four the friends Musumane-sama called for?"

"Yeah, that'd be us! Let us in, would ya?" Jimenju gave a thumb up and signaled the left guard with a strange handsign the four couldn't see from the ground. Jimenju placed his hands together as if he was praying, while the other guard pressed his fist together. Hinata stepped back slightly as the door began to swing open and reveal the great expanse of land and buildings it held behind it. Creaking and squeaking to a stop, Jimenju waved his hand for the foursome to go in. Ino waved excitedly back to the man, leading the group inside.

She had anonymously decided she would be the leader for this expedition. Hinata was too meek to be leader, and someone had to lead the two boys around the place.

"Guys, come on, don't get lost." Ino beckoned the three closer to her. Hinata walked a pace behind the blonde, while Sasuke and Naruto stayed side by side behind Hinata. "This is where Sakura lives—the Haruno City."

"…How can she live _here_?!" Naruto squawked, his eyes opening father than usual, as if by doing so he'd take more in. "It's like this place is its own _country_!"

"It kind of is," Sasuke mumbled, glancing to his left and glaring at the staring couple to the side of the street. They mumbled something and giggled, hiding their lips behind a hand. The Uchiha scoffed. "When I was younger the great clans of the Fire Nation had had a meeting. I had to learn about the Haruno family specifically, because at the time they could've taken out any of the clans."

"Th-that's right," Hinata quietly agreed, feeling more outspoken when talking about something Sakura-related. "They're a-a p-peaceful people, th-though, and c-care more f-for their re-religion than war."

"What religion?" Naruto asked as they passed a small temple. He could see a few women bowing below a statue of a figure enshrouded in darkness.

"It's called Keiei," Ino answered. "At least, that's what they call it in our language."

Hinata interrupted, "The H-Haruno clan d-doesn't only sp-speak Japanese l-like we do. They speak Ch-Chinese. I th-think they know Japanese though, too, t-to make it easier to t-talk."

"Yep," Ino nodded. "Keiei is the worship of a goddess named Kurokami. They refer to her as Kurokami-heika… I'd advise you do to. They're really strict about that. Oh, and refer to Sakura as "hime-sama" or something like that."

Sasuke, who was formerly beating up on himself for not realizing Sakura was _Haruno_ Sakura, opened his eyes in realization. "That's right. Sakura's the heiress." Naruto looked at him, open-mouthed.

Ino rolled her eyes. For being members of the Sakura fanclub, they were dumb. "Yeah. So, anyway, Hinata knows more about this than I do."

Hinata shrank when the two boys focused their attentions of her. They were determined to learn all they could about Sakura before they reached wherever they were going. They even had little notepads! "Well," she began nervously, beginning to swell up in the cheeks. "K-Kurokami-heika's story starts from the dawn of time, I think. I don't know a whole l-lot… She was t-the mother of the H-Haruno family. She found a man named, um, Ashioarau. They b-bore twin children and g-gave them the n-names of Hitoezakura and Yokudo..."

"_And from the fertile soil Yukodo offered, Hitoezakura grew into a grand single-blossom cherry tree, holding only one flower that had ten petals. The sacred ten-petaled blossom was torn from the branch, releasing the flowers, one child for each petal. Thus is how the Haruno family came to be."_ First reciting it in Chinese, Musumane translated it into Japanese for the four children, smiling and standing with a hand on her hip. "As written in the Kage'in, at least. How are you two?! I haven't seen you in forever!" The woman scooped the two girls in her arms, crushing them briefly before returning them to the ground. Scanning the faces of the males, she reached over and turned their heads to the sides, as if she were examining an animal. "Hm, so you two must be Naruto and Sasuke, huh? Sakura doesn't disappoint!" Giggling like a schoolgirl, Musumane turned around and held her arm forward. "Let's go!"

Ino coughed, trying to regain her breath from the hug. "Musumane-san… Why are you here? We know our way around." The two males looked at each other uncertainly. Who the heck was this "Musumane" woman?

"Well, I know you, Ino, and Hinata-chan are clarified to go into the higher districts, but these two aren't," said she, pointing to the boys.

"Higher districts?" Naruto asked. "Why would we need to be clarified?"

Ino sighed and turned to Naruto. "This city is so large it's hard to navigate, so it's split up into different sections, or districts. The lower districts, the Red and Pink Districts—no, Naruto, it's not _that_ kind of Red District—are for civilian and shinobi housing and shopping. They're located in the front of the Haruno City and take up most of the space. The two higher districts, such as the White and Gray Districts, are for worship and to house the main shinobi forces. The highest, supreme district is the Black District, where the Shadow Palace is located, at the back of the Haruno City."

"It's also the most protected place in the Haruno City, so you guys need me to escort you around." Musumane smiled and beckoned them with her hand. A very nicely manicured hand, Ino had to admit. Sasuke sighed and followed the woman coldly, leaving Naruto to gawk for a moment before catching up.

_(Konoha, Haruno City, Shadow Palace, Entrance, June 18__th__, 12:29PM)_

"Holy-holy-holy-holy…" Naruto mumbled, taking in the horror that was the Shadow Palace. Tall spires stood tall and looming, their tops pointed into menacing spires. The entire building was black and purple shades, with an occasional red accent scattered across the walls. It was a mix of a traditional and Victorian flavor—Kurokami's own influence. The entire palace was the largest building any of them had seen; it was five stories high and stretched so far that it disappeared into their peripheral visions. The windows were slightly fogged so that it wasn't easy to see inside, but easy to see outside. Even the mere sight of the front, sliding doors decorated with frightful demons and wisps of darkness was enough to shake Naruto's knees. Hinata and Ino were unaffected, having been to the palace many times and used to the shadowy (no pun intended) aura.

Inwardly, Sasuke was having an epiphany.

'OH MY GAWD, IT'S JUST LIKE IT'S STRAIGHT OUT OF ONE OF THOSE SCARY FAIRY TALES!! …Does that mean I get to be Sakura-chan's knight in shining armor!? WAIT FOR ME, MY PRINCESS!'

Musumane turned around and stared at the quartet with serious, penetrating eyes. She narrowed them and pointed at their faces. She breathed in, causing the four to bend back, preparing for whatever she decided to blow at them.

"Don't get lost, _kaaaay_?" she chirped, spinning away to busy herself with work. "And don't forget to be respectful!" The four stood there for a moment, watching the woman slam the front door open with a force that could almost destroy the wall and prance away with mirth in her steps.

Wow. Sasuke and Naruto agreed instantly: Musumane had schizophrenia.

"Um," Ino began slowly, recovering as well, "Just… follow me and Hinata. We know the way." Naruto nodded belatedly and followed the two girls. Sasuke stayed behind for a moment, getting ready his courage to fight whatever dragons were hiding in the closets and save his Sakura. He ran forward, refraining from crying out in justice, "FOR SAKURA-CHAN!"

_(Konoha, Haruno City, Shadow Palace, Fifth Wing, June 18__th__, 12:36PM)_

"Here we are," Ino announced, moving to the side to draw attention to the sliding doors behind her. They were off-white with the form of Kurokami embracing a child Sakura painted into them. Shadows licked at their intertwined forms and the symbols for "Love", "Protection", and "Darkness" were elegantly placed at the top right corner. Ino walked forward and knocked on the wooden frame of the door. "Sakura? Are you in there?"

Inside the room, the pinkette had heard, sensed, and seen the four. Their shadows darkened the rice paper faintly and she could recognize their stances. Sakura got up slowly, and walked off her bed and onto the plushy, black carpet to snatch a robe from her closet. The robe imitated the look of an older version of the Haruno robes, looking more feudal. The long sleeves fell in the way of her pale hands, which were trying to tie the small bow in front of her robe.

"Come in," she finally called, barely loud enough for the four to hear. The sliding door smacked when it came into contact with the wall from Ino's strength.

"HELLO, PAPER-GIRL!" Ino screamed, launching herself at Sakura. Sakura squeaked and caught Ino, only stumbling back a step. Ino hooked her legs around the girl's waist and hugged Sakura's head with her arms. Hinata smiled, but inwardly cursed Ino for all she was worth. Naruto pouted and ambled to the pair, tugging desperately on Sakura's hanging sleeves, looking for some kind of acceptance.

Sasuke, however, took on a dangerous view of Ino. In his mind, the blonde girl melted into a purple scaled dragon with a yellow mane and striking blue eyes. The Ino-dragon had Sakura trapped in its long, manicured claws, who was crying for help, yelling his name.

'_Sasuke-kun! Sasuke-kun! Save me!'_

'**I'LL SAVE YOU SAKURA-CHAN!!'**

Before the boy could leap into action, Hinata, none all too softly, removed Ino from the red faced heiress. Her eyes were sharp and demeaning—the most focused anyone had seen. Sakura breathed easily and smiled beautifully at the navette.

"Thanks, Hinata-chan." The Hyuuga's eyes returned to their placid white, and she returned the charming smile, blushing slightly. Ino glared from her place on the floor. How dare Hinata! She was having a "moment" with Sakura!

"Nice room, Sakura," Naruto commented, turning somewhat to survey the large room. The walls were painted off-white to reduce the burden the bright white would have put on the eyes, and the floors were soft, unbelievably comfortable black carpeting. The white, circular Sakura slept on was slightly raised off the ground, but only by a few inches. There were numerous pillows stacked at the headboard of the bed, varying in color and size. There was a bunch of little details in the room someone wouldn't notice at first glance, like the circular indents in the walls meant to act as shelves and the closet that nearly disappeared into the wall it matched so perfectly. Sakura had a small red desk to the side of her bed with a pink rolling chair. Granted, it wouldn't slide easily on the carpet, but it could spin in a complete circle.

Sasuke snorted and looked at the walls. Multiple pictures hanged on the wall, nicely arranged in a pattern of ups and downs. He noticed their newly taken Team 7 picture hanging next to their Academy portrait. He felt happiness swell a little in his heart. They had taken that picture late yesterday, and she had it already framed and pinned to the wall.

Everyone noticed the large glass sphere hanging from the ceiling. Within it held swirling mass of luminescent black stuff. Which was completely confusing in itself, but they would overlook it because if it was in Sakura's room, it wasn't dangerous.

"So, uh," Sakura started nervously, "W-welcome." A strange silence hanged over them, Sakura sealing her lips in a thin line. Sneakily, Sasuke edged to Sakura's left, unoccupied side, and tried to tap his elbow with hers. Hinata, still on a streak from Ino, saw the move with her all-seeing eyes and tugged Sakura by the sleeve a little closer to her, a calm smile planted on her face. Sasuke pursed his lips and glared.

Hinata glared right back, cracking open her white eyes.

Sasuke gulped and moved his eyes to look at Sakura, because, well, Hyuuga eyes _**looked into your soul**_.

Hinata smiled. She won the battle. (But who would win the war?)

Sakura looked sideways sheepishly. Her mind was filled with numerous plans of how the day would play out—she was looking for the least involved one. Suddenly a thought bubbled out of the corner of her mind. Her _parents_.

Slowly her face slid down to stare at her hands, which were lightly groping at the air. A countenance filled with horror appeared on her painfully white face as she realized what the gathering of her two teammates merited…

The meeting of death and destruction: her parents barraging her friends with question after question. Oh, they threatened a lot too.

Ino and Hinata shared a look (their truce once again active). They also knew of what was to come. Simultaneously, their mouths stretched into wry grins.

How they would enjoy their pain.

Sasuke and Naruto were fairly confused at the girls' expressions. Sakura's face of doom frightened them, yes, but Ino's and Hinata's grins crushed all bravery they had.

"C-come with me," Sakura dejectedly muttered, slowly moving to the sliding door. It was inevitable, no matter how she looked at it; she had to go through with it with Ino and Hinata, and they still remained close friends. The four trailed behind Sakura in the same way ducklings followed their mother. Of course, the train wasn't nearly as cute of a sight with Sakura's pitiful frown and the two creeping smirks the other girls had.

"Where are we going, Sakura—" Naruto started to ask, but was viciously jabbed in the side by Ino before he could say "-chan". "…hime?" The pure essence of dread that covered her face when she looked back at him soullessly struck him into a silence that seemed to eat his heart and mind. Naruto melted into a shell, all because Sakura was near-dead.

"My parents," she ghoulishly answered, not a single stutter in her reply. Of course, this meant little—the mere words she spoke were dipped in such foreboding took away any pride they could have at her pause-less sentence.

"They're… they're that bad?" Sasuke whispered to Hinata lowly. He was talking a lot today. Hinata stared at him, mimicking Sakura's aura. The Uchiha turned around, having gotten his answer.

It had taken the small train of gennin six minutes to navigate the winding halls and doors to get to the throne room, which was a large room with pillars running parallel to the walls. It was very traditional—the wood was gray finished and at the back of the room was a slightly raised platform that the head would sit with his wife on a pillow. That part of the room had a large, barely see-through curtain hiding it, only allowing a blunt shadow to be revealed. The curtain was a light gray and was patterned similar to the front shoji doors; wisps of purple and black shadows swirling along the bottom and sides of the curtain with an unclear form of Kurokami dead center, her eyes pure red.

The two behind the curtain were arguing over something, their voices straining from the efforts to keep them just above whispers.

"M-Mother, F-F-Father…" Sakura called out impishly stepping forward to push at the blinds. The pair of shadows behind the curtain were facing each other and holding something. When the curtain raised, Sakura's mother and father, Toki and Moniket, were revealed to have been playing a bitter game of Go-Fish. Due to Toki's beaming smile and Moniket's foul snarl, the group was able to deduce the current winner.

Toki put down her cards gently and stood to hug her only child. The red haired woman was dressed in the most formal and authentic get-up any of them had seen. The sleeves went all the way to the floor and trailed slightly, as did the slit dress. The top was layers of kimono covered with a haori decorated in an extremely intricate pattern of black ravens flying across a field of cherry blossoms with sleeves reaching the floor. Under the haori was a very new style the four pure Japanese children were introduced to—the dress reached all the way up and covered the chest area, but split at the sides in a deep V-shape. The back also had this, making the bottom dress seem like two pieces held together with an obi. The dress was a faintly detailed scarlet color with winding patterns of shimmering thorn vines winding down in mesmerizing swirls. They could only count three kamon—two on the haori's sleeves and one on the strange upper part of the scarlet dress. Toki's hair was left to lay behind her and hit her knees. She only wore socks.

Moniket wore a similarly styled and patterned garb, though his was much more masculine. He had a wide pair of hakama in a white color as opposed to Toki's scarlet dress, but to make up for it, he also had an apron-like flap in a scarlet color reach his knees. He, as well, had his long silver hair pinned back in a long ponytail.

Sakura gave her mother a quick hug before stepping back to introduce the two boys her parents did not know. "The t-two boys are named Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki N-Naruto. They are my f-friends. Please, a-accept them with h-honor." She bowed to the floor and rested her forehead on the ground. At the mention of the word, "friends," Moniket shot up faster than their eyes could see to pace around the two boys. Hinata and Ino chuckled darkly and stepped back, sitting comfortably to watch the show. Sasuke and Naruto shuddered at tried not to look down from Moniket's piercing emerald eyes.

"An Uchiha and an Uzumaki?" the man grumbled to himself, circling the boys like a vulture waiting for its prey to die. Naruto was almost there, Sasuke still holding a cold front to try and "impress" Sakura's father (and his future father-in-law). The white haired man narrowed his eyes and leaned in front of Sasuke's stiff face. Sliding down his face slowly, a small droplet of sweat fell down and hit the gray floor with a small tap. Moniket's pupils shrank for the briefest of moments at the sound, suddenly standing wood-straight.

"What is my daughter's favorite color!" he boomed, his hands firmly pressed to his sides. Sakura's head popped off the floor and she stared at him pleadingly, trying to communicate to her father that she wanted him to not interrogate her new friends.

"Uh…" Sasuke was awfully confused at the head's abrupt change in mood. Naruto squeaked and mimicked the older man's posture.

"R-red?" Naruto meekly guessed, figuring that would be a good assumption since he constantly saw her wearing the scarlet shade.

"Wrong! Her favorite color is black!"Sakura sighed, defeated, and fell back onto her rear to helplessly watch the show. Ino and Hinata snickered behind their hands like old women. "What are my daughter's favorite breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert foods!"

Sasuke gasped and pointed at the intimidating leader. "She likes strawberry shortcake for breakfast, salmon for lunch, crab and lobster for dinner, and she likes every kind of dessert!"

"_All right!"_ The male Haruno cheered in Chinese triumphantly. _"This boy has won some points!"_

"_Father!" _complained Sakura, copying his language. Her two teammates stared in confusion, not understanding the words flowing from the Harunos' mouths. _"Wh-what does this have to do w-with any-anything?!"_

"_One day, when you are older, you will understand, Sakura!" _the large man responded, fisting his hand and punching it toward the two boys. Naruto and Sasuke shivered; Naruto more so than Sasuke. They couldn't decode anything the two were saying, so when Moniket punched toward them, they thought he was threatening to hurt them.

'S-Sakura-chan is defending me!' the two thought harmoniously, so deluded with belatedness that they never considered the true meaning for Sakura's upset words to her father.

"Quickly! My daughter's three sizes!"

Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto all fell to the ground at once, their faces enflamed with strong blushes of horror and embarrassment; Ino and Hinata merely answered the question silently and nodded. How they had come across such information was never to be discussed… Never again.

.-.

_(Konoha, Haruno City Gates, June 18__th__, 4:34PM)_

Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto, Hinata, and Ino all stood at the foot of the Haruno Gates. After being unconscious for a few minutes (fifteen in Sakura's case), the trio of fainters had regrouped with Hinata and Ino (after, of course, Sakura vehemently protested against any more questioning from her father with such conviction that Kurokami was clapping in the background). Sakura showed them around the higher districts of the city and some of her favorite spots, like the Resonance Forest, in which no ill will could be experienced, the Holy Black Fountain located dead-center of the city, which spewed black water, and the Night Temple, where Kurokami's body had been burned thirteen years ago.

Sasuke and Naruto learned a bucket load after the tour—Sakura wasn't as shy when at home and she was much more knowledgeable on a myriad of topics than they previously thought. Hinata wasn't surprised, however, since it was she that tagged along with Sakura to the weekly visits to the Konoha, Haruno, and Hyuuga libraries.

At this moment, the pinkette was waving her friends off. She was due for a checkup, and this morning's heart attack had prompted it to be sooner. Besides, she wanted to avoid meeting with her father again with the two males in her presence.

'**I know he means well, but I think he might be the reason you don't have so many friends,'** Kurokami observed, glancing toward the tallest spire of the Shadow Palace. Moniket had an observation deck up there…

"I-it was fun," Sakura chirped softly, waving gently. Ino and Hinata waved back and told the Haruno that they would visit again soon. Sasuke—still trying to keep his "bad boy" image intact—grunted before he held up a hand and walked away. Naruto shuffled on his feet quietly, somewhat nerved by Sakura's unintentionally hawkish stare. She wasn't blinking for whatever reason; she was just waiting for him to go home.

He breathed in, "I learned a lot about you, Sakura-chan. I really think we can get to know each other better now." Much to his surprise, Sakura's lips broke into the most euphoric smile he'd ever seen—it was so charming that he imagined roses and other such flowers blooming in the background.

"I'd like that," she said without a single stutter. "I'd like that so very, very much, Naruto…" And, after a moment of delegation, added quietly, "…-kun."

Naruto stood, dumbstruck, as Sakura lifted a meager hand and waved in farewell. Still not responsive, Naruto returned the gesture weakly, before Sakura retreated back inside Haruno City and the gates slid closed. The blonde pivoted on his foot soon after, robotically walking down the path surrounded by trees.

"This," he said aloud, "was the **best day ever**. Totally."

From within his mind, Kyuubi agreed, then swooned and cuddled the small Sakura clone that he had created with chakra.

.-.

Finally, man… It's done. I hope the length makes up for my lateness… I've had too much to do, seriously.

Translations:

Keiei/the Haruno family religion, in which Kurokami is that major goddess; the form and its shadow/things inseparable

Hitoezakura/single petal cherry blossom

Yokudo/fertile soil, ground

Kamon/family crests on a kimono—the Haruno crest is usually a white ring, though the head family is known to sometimes have black rings

Three sizes/referring to the sizes of bust, waist, and hips

Spells:

Captive of the Key Spirit

Spell used to summon Hausseling, the demonic key spirit, and Tollund, the girl who fell in love with the cursed key.

Effects/Slowing of time, ability to lock anything shut for a period of time, ability to open any lock

Disadvantages/Chant is formidably long, time while locked/unlocked is restricted

.-.

Finally, some of my own plot! Well, 25 days until it really unravels… Pretty much around the middle of the Chuunin Exams, so I'd say… Three, four chapters. Two for the Mission to Mist, then one or two for the written exams and some of the Forest of Death

Reviewers:

Inkaide

Nodirection

NinjaFoodLover

TheAttentionJustEncouragesHer

Kinara-chan

Thirrin73

Black Kunai

Beloved of the Darkness

I'm-Akemi-chan

Rosemary-Raven **(I swore your name said "-Ramen.")**

xXbochiXx

The Sociopathism of Trees

Vesper chan

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LarkasBlessing122291

SB01

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Psycho-Panda-Chan


	6. 5: First Departure

Summary: Once upon a time in the ninja world, a sickly baby girl was born… her guardian deity saved her, but she ended up inheriting the goddess' attraction pheromone… For better or worse. Slightly AU, Saku/Almost Everyone

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Rating: T

Story Genre: General/Humor/Action-Adventure/Drama/Slight Romance, Horror, Spiritual, Angst,Suspense

Chapter Genre: Action/Adventure/Humor/Suspense/Drama/Slight Romance

Warnings: Sasuke still thinks he's a knight, serious suspense

Page Count: 13

Word Count: 5018

Musical Inspiration: Various Pokemon Tracks (GSTs and OSTs), Taiko no Tatsujin Tracks, Kawaita Sakebi (Anime: Yu-Gi-Oh!), Katamari Damacy Tracks (GST)

Notes: Setting out of the village; a frightening duo awaits!

.-.

**kakurenbo**

-Hide and Seek-

:First Departure:

.-.

_(Konoha, Konoha Gates, June 23rd, 11:22AM)_

"ALL RIGHT!" Naruto jumped triumphantly, his fist aimed toward the sky. Today they were to leave for the Land of Waves on their first official mission outside the village. After a very compelling and loud argument (mostly because of Naruto and Iruka), the Hokage had deemed the tired Team 7 worthy of a C-class mission, instead of the usual E and D-class. Sakura was very content with staying within the village and doing the mediocre tasks, since the clients were always very nice to her, and she enjoyed helping others. Naruto, however, _detested_, such tasks, and wanted some action, just as Sasuke did. Kakashi didn't care either way.

"Should I truly feel safe with this shrimp?" the old man that accompanied them on this mission, their ward, Tazuna the Great Bridge Builder, wondered to himself. He was a grizzly, muscled man with a constant sneer on his face, a bottle of cheap sake never too far from his hands. Tazuna wasn't happy at all at being escorted by brand new gennin, especially when one was wearing _bright orange_, another looking like a ten foot pole was up his rear, and the girl…

Tazuna tried not hugging the little girl with all his might—she reminded him of Tsunami, his daughter. He didn't mind the pink haired one, even if she looked positively horrified by him and the large expense of forest around the group. However, he did notice how the two boys travelled closely to her, flanking both her sides protectively. Even the jounin beside him had kept his eye stuck to her the entire time.

Sasuke and Naruto had come to terms with their rivalry, and like Ino and Hinata formed a temporary alliance to keep Sakura safe from harm. Bickering over their future bride wouldn't do her any good in the danger of the outdoors. Sharing a glare, the two simultaneously stepped closer to the only girl wordlessly.

Sakura never once closed her eyes for the time they had been walking. She could feel every single gaze of each male, protective, adoring, platonic, or not, creeping up her back. Plus the stress just from the fact that she knew enemies could be lurking around each and every corner completely frayed her nerves.

'**Calm down,'** Kurokami sighed, filing at her nails boredly. **'It's not like you're going to have any serious fights. It's a C-ranked mission. How dangerous can it get?'** The goddess put down the file and acted out the part of an "evil, scary enemy," hand gestures and sarcastic facial expression included. **'Ooooh! Ooooh! I'm an evil guy, here to steal your old, boozed-up bridge builder guy! I'll force him not to make BRIIIIIIDGEEESSS!! I'm so EVIL and CUNNING!'** Sakura frowned and mumbled something softly as Kurokami continued with her impression.

Needless to say, Sakura _was not amused_.

_(Wave, Kokiri's Forest Path, June 23__rd__,12:12PM)_

The group entered the Wave territory. Now they had to just reach the Mist Village, and they'd be set. Tazuna was oddly jittery once they had left the Fire country, as if he was expecting something.

"Is something wrong, Tazuna-san?" Kakashi asked the man. The builder cleared his throat and shook his head.

"N-nothing," he answered, shifting his eyes side to side. The group passed a puddle right in the middle of the road. The males evaded the puddle, whilst Sakura simply walked right through it. She was wearing boots, unlike the others' open-toed zori. As she treaded through the water, Sakura felt the slight presence of something else briefly.

'**Ouch.'** Kurokami snickered. She had known what was with the puddle that Sakura had just stepped in and from how Kakashi had narrowed his eye at it she knew he knew as well. Sakura was able to walk forward a few more paces before an angry ninja leapt out from the puddle, holding his face with one hand.

"YOU RUNT! YOU STEPPED ON MY FACE!" he claimed, rubbing his eyes roughly. His brother came out after him and gasped when he saw Sakura's shocked body language.

"Brother, do not attack her!" But it was too late—the angered Mist nin was charging toward the heiress.

"Sakura!" Naruto and Sasuke called out; they were prepared to run out if the ninja got too close. Kakashi, however, leapt forward to protect Sakura… Only to find his actions were unneeded.

The Demon Mist Brother clawed out at where he assumed Sakura's face was, his poisoned claw stretched out to slash at anything in his way. Sakura gasped, a million things running through her mind at once. She choked and turned away, closing her eyes and hunching slightly.

Kurokami sighed at her container and calmly curled her right index finger up. A wall of shadow suddenly formed from the ground and, like a wave, crashed into the angered brother, sweeping him away.

'De-defense mechanism…?' Kakashi thought, his dash halted mid-way, a confused face plastered on his head. The remaining brother frowned at his already downed brother and chose to rush at a weaker looking opponent… The orange one would do nicely.

Sakura saw the enemy ready to attack at any moment run towards Naruto and Sasuke. 'They're going to be hurt!' she thought. "Naruto-kun! Sasuke! Look out!" She had yelled as loud as she could, which surprisingly was enough for the two boys to hear. Unfortunately, it was too late, and the Mist Demon had already slashed at Naruto's hand. The attack boy cowered in pain, upset at himself for not being able to do anything.

Kakashi appeared just in time to intercept any more attacks the brother would unleash upon the two shell-shocked gennin. He was able to quickly dispatch the last brother with a series of jabs to the neck, who fell to the ground in a heap.

Tazuna and Sakura quickly worked on tying the two Mist ninja up with rope while Kakashi examined Naruto's wounded hand.

"Sasuke, you didn't act at all. You need to work on your response skills." The boy in question scoffed and looked to the side, his ego just a tiny bit killed. "Sakura, you were able to defend, but you can never turn away like that, no matter if you have a defensive skill of not." The pinkette shuffled from foot to foot, a blush prominently displayed on her cheeks. "And Naruto… You got yourself wounded. That alone is bad enough." Naruto bit his lip and looked away. Kakashi turned the blonde's hand over, continuing to inspect the wound. "There was poison in his claw… We'll have to go back to Konoha to have Naruto treated."

Frustrated, Naruto gripped a kunai and slammed it into his hand. He was not going to be a burden anymore! "I might not have done anything in that fight, but trust me… I'm not going to hold us back! I promise!" Kakashi smiled, Sasuke smirked, and Sakura… Well, Sakura squealed.

"Ah!!! Naruto-kun! Y-you'll die from that kind of wound… Forget the p-poison!!!!" Naruto began squealing as well, after a moment of realization. The Haruno rushed over to bandage the wound and stop the bleeding. Before her eyes the wound hissed and began to seal up and after a moment it was good as new. Kurokami grinned, impressed, as Sakura continued to act like nothing had happened.

'**It's nice to know that Kyuubi is keeping his container in good shape, eh?'**

"Regardless…" Kakashi turned to Tazuna, his eye searching for answers. "Those were ninja from the Bingo Book, Tazuna-san. They shouldn't have been appearing if we were truly on a C-class mission… Care to explain?" The old man sighed and plopped down across from the Mist Demon Brothers and held his head.

"I'm sorry… I've been lying to you. In truth, this should have been an A-class mission, but I didn't have the money to pay for an A-class… I'm being hunted by an evil man named Gato. He wants to kill me."

"Why?"

Tazuna sighed reluctantly. "You see, Gato currently has control over Wave. He runs a huge yakuza organization and profits from how poor the people are in Wave."

"H-how could you get involved?" Sakura wondered. "Are y-you organizing a r-rebellion?"

"No, I'm a bridge builder, remember?" Tazuna took a swig from his bottle. "My group and I are building a bridge to connect Wave to the inland. This way we can trade with many other countries and bring in much more currency. This bridge will allow Wave to flourish."

"Gato controls Wave because it can't fight back from its lack of funds…" Kakashi muttered, standing up straight. "If the bridge is built, then Gato's reign will end."

"That's why he wants to kill me!" Tazuna fisted his hands. "I _need_ to finish this bridge… To save Mist and Wave!"

Kakashi sighed. "We should bring you back to Konoha to request a better suited team…"

"No!" Tazuna denied, slyly looking towards Sakura. "I… I mean… I have a daughter and an adorable grandson waiting for me! What would happen if I were to tell them how my group had abandoned me? They're depending on me!" Kakashi sighed once more. He was doing that multiple times today.

"Fine, fine, we'll go on. We can take it, right team?" Team 7 cheered, ready for anything now. Tazuna's eyes glinted.

'Got 'em.'

_(Wave, Kumo Bridge, June 23__rd__, 2:38PM)_

"Wow!" Naruto cooed, staring down at the water underneath them. They were riding on a small rowboat captained by a meek man.

"Shh!" their guide shushed, his eyes wide and fearful. "It's not safe anywhere here, so you need to keep it down…"

'How depressing,' Sakura commented to Kurokami. 'The people here are so gripped by Gato's influence… They can't even talk happily.'

'**Mm…'** Kurokami grunted in answer. **'I've seen plenty of starved countries like this. This is not the first or worst tyranny problem I've experienced. The Haruno family at one point had a dictator as a leader, but we… **_**took care of him**_** soon enough.'**

"Gato has been doing horrible things to my country," mused Tazuna. "He has sucked our pockets dry and killed our crops… I need to finish this bridge as soon as possible."

"We're going to help you, Tazuna-san," Sakura promised with such conviction in her voice her teammates stopped their previous actions and stared. Her soft ruby eyes were relentlessly staring into Tazuna's, conveying their dedication and determination. "We p-promise."

"…Thanks, kid." Whit that, Tazuna ruffled Sakura's pink head, and the boat fell into a—now—comfortable silence. They hit the shore in no time and were ushered off the bridge by the boater.

"I leave you here, okay? Be careful… You're in Mist Village territory now, so don't say I didn't warn you!" As abruptly as he had gotten them off the boat, the nameless man had disappeared back into the thick fog hovering over the river.

Kakashi stretched and began to lead the group. "He's right guys. Pay attention and make sure that you don't miss anything." The three gennin nodded and automatically surveyed their surroundings.

'**Don't worry too much,'** Kurokami nonchalantly commented. **'I'll protect you. I have no intentions of having you killed or hurt… Any of you.'**

'Kurokami…' Sakura thought back, silenced. 'I… I want to thank you, but… I want to be independent. You… You're always, always hovering over me, making sure that even the smallest paper cut is examined thoroughly… Can't you let me use my own devices, just this once?'

The goddess sat silently, eyeing her descendant. Sakura was finally trying to become her own person, not controlled by the whispers of a goddess in her ears… **'…Fine, fine. I **_**suppose**_** I can let you lead yourself. But don't think I'm not watching you!'**

Smiling to herself, Sakura thanked her savior and caught up with the rest of the group.

_(Wave, Path of White Fog, June 23__rd__, 4:57PM)_

They had been walking for a few hours when, suddenly, Naruto chose to throw a kunai at a bush. Kakashi automatically dropped into a defensive stance in front of Tazuna, quickly followed by Sasuke and Sakura.

"What's wrong, Naruto?" the white haired (but not old) man asked seriously. His hand was poised right above his kunai pouch, ready to strike at any moment.

"Oops," Naruto sheepishly muttered, walking over to retrieve his wasted kunai. "I thought I heard something in these bushes."

Kakashi sighed and relaxed after a moment, standing straight once more. "Try not to overreact anymore, Naruto," he said after a sigh, "It's not good for Sakura's heart." True to his words, Sakura was slightly panting with a shocked look to her eyes. She hadn't felt anything when Naruto had thrown the kunai, so when he did it confused her and sent her into panic. She was only now feeling the aftereffects.

"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan!" Naruto whined, gripping her sleeve gently, a most pathetic face pointed at the girl. Sakura merely coughed him away, shaking her head in acceptance. Sasuke shot a pointed stare at the blonde.

"Stupid. Don't try to act like a real ninja, if you're just going to mess up."

"Shut up, Sasuke!" Naruto yelled, pointing at his part-time comrade in love. He gritted his teeth and stomped to the front of the group, making large, dramatic steps as he went. The Uchiha smirked and languidly strolled behind the hyperactive blonde, not feeling the need to try and keep in pace with Naruto's stomp. Sakura coughed lightly once more and scratched her head, confused as to why Naruto and Sasuke acted so… unnecessarily, but continued behind them nevertheless.

Kakashi sighed once more and reached into his pocket to fetch his Icha Icha Paradise volume eight. The orange cover greeted his eye joyously. Not waiting for someone to call him a pervert, he popped the book open to his dog-eared page.

To his dismay, the most horrendous thing happened.

The face of the main character, Kano, slowly morphed to fit the features of Sakura's pale face. Kakashi shivered and flipped to the next page, blinking once to get the image out of his head. When the exact same thing happened once more, he squeaked and skipped forward a handful of pages, only to land on a rather racy page.

Unfortunately for him, Kano's pleasured face slowly turned to Sakura's (or what he _thought_ would be) pleasured face, heavily blushing and her eyes closed—her mouth open just the slightest bit to moan—

"Gack!" Kakashi hoarsely croaked, slamming the book closed. Lo and behold, the Kano's small picture had changed to Sakura, and the male she was chasing turned into him, Kakashi…

'NOOOOO!!!' Kakashi screamed mentally. 'I HAVE DEFILED SAKURANBO-CHAN'S BEING WITH MY PERVERTED THOUGHTS! WHY, OH WHY, HAVE YOU DONE THIS TO ME, ICHA ICHA GODS?!'

Tazuna looked sideways to the jounin in charge; the leader suddenly seemed deflated, holding his little orange book limply like that.

Meanwhile, up in front, Naruto was staring out at the foliage tentatively. He was determined to prove himself worthy, after the previous blunder.

There!

Naruto quickly sent a kunai sailing in the center of a bush to his right. He had seen something there!

Kakashi jumped back into a defensive stance, Sakura jumped a foot in the air, and Sasuke sighed.

"Being over reactive again, idiot?" Sasuke taunted, raising one eyebrow.

"I saw something!" Naruto claimed, pointing at the bush he had attacked. From it, a petrified, white rabbit (the coloring was not due to its near-death experience) squirmed. Naruto, as usual, squawked and ran over to smother the helpless rabbit.

"Y-you nearly killed i-it…" Sakura whispered, hiding my tiny frown with her hands. Sasuke saw this and gasped.

'I must get her a bunny!'

Kakashi narrowed his lone eye. Rabbits turned white in the winter. Right now, due to the seasons, the rabbit should've been brown. This rabbit was no ordinary rabbit…

Kakashi's previously narrowed eye widened suddenly as he sensed the danger.

'**DANGER!'** Kurokami warned, strangely stiff and alert. Sakura didn't hesitate in acting, quickly ramming into Tazuna to knock him off his feet. She caught a glimpse of Kakashi saying the same thing and Sasuke tackling Naruto to the ground. What was she was more worried about, though, was Kurokami's unusual reaction and the large zanpaktou flying over their heads and into a tree nearby. The rabbit had been long forgotten.

"Well, well, well… What do we have here?" Kakashi grit his hidden teeth. It was Momochi Zabuza, one the Seven Swordsmen and a top ringer in his Bingo Book. Gato was serious in murdering Tazuna if he had hired a man like Zabuza… Zabuza was tall and strangely tanned with most of his boy wrapped in bandages. His head was topped with spiky, uncared for brown hair that seemed black in the mist.

"Zabuza of the Seven Swordsmen…" Kakashi grit out, unveiling the man's identity to his three students.

"Oho!" It looked like the missing nin was pleased by the group Tazuna had hired. "Hatake Kakashi, Copy Cat Ninja! I see you took on students!" Zabuza had said this while examining the group, he eyes roaming over each, quietly standing, gennin. "A blonde haired boy dressed in _orange_, an Uchiha, and a pink haired Haruno girl…" The man froze. "Pink hair… Where do I remember that from?"

Sakura bit her bottom lip and glanced at the strong swordsman perched atop his blade. He was familiar to her somehow…

"Zabuza…" she muttered, holding her chin thoughtfully. "Z-Zabuza…" Then, suddenly it came back to her like she had been hit by a train. "Z-Zabuza-kun! That's r-right!" The man stared at her in confusion when she pointed to him with a white finger, her sudden realization clouding her mind of the fact that she was pointing at a killing machine. "I re-remember now! I m-met you during my trip t-to the Mist Village!"

"Sakura-chan…?" Zabuza whispered, his eyes opening. Once he looked her over once more, he was positive. The same white skin, pink hair, black strip, red eyes, shy exterior… It was his little Sakura! "Saku-raaaaaa-chaaan!!" The formerly scary man leapt forward to envelop the Haruno girl in a bear hug. "How I've missed you so!"

"You let her go!" Kakashi squawked nervously, putting his fists in front of his mouth. He was very afraid to admit it, but…

It seemed… He had a _**RIVAL**_!!!

"A-ah!" the Mist ninja squeaked, jumping away slowly and holding up his hands defensively. "I-I'm sorry, Sakura-chan… I f-forgot your condition…" In a Hinata-like manner, the grown man pushed his fingers together. Sakura was now a shade of light purple in the face—blue from suffocation and pink from a blush. Naruto and Sasuke were confused.

When had Sakura met _Zabuza_, of all people?

Why was a strong, formidable person like _Zabuza_ acting shyly all of a sudden?

What was GOING ON?!

"Why are you here, you… You… man whore!" Kakashi immaturely called out, stomping a foot a few times. This shook Zabuza out of his stupor and dragged his angered attention to the white haired man.

"MAN WHORE!? Look at yourself, you man slut!" bit Zabuza back. Kakashi gasped.

"Oh, you did NOT just go there!"

Zabuza smirked.

"Oh, I went there."

Kakashi pulled angrily at his large mess of hair in aggravation. The Momochi turned to Tazuna, smirk still in place. "Sorry old man, but it's time for you to die." Everyone suddenly turned serious and jumped in front of Tazuna. (That said… The old man was very confused himself. First, everyone was scared, then they were acting like petulant children, and then they were all serious again!)

"Let's get him, guys!" Naruto yelled, edging forward to attack Zabuza. Kakashi held him back, however, and stepped forward.

"Sorry, Naruto, you'll have to sit this one out. Zabuza's on a higher level than you guys." 'Besides, I need to retake my honor! Man slut… I'll show him!' Kakashi lifted his headband to reveal… A Sharingan eye!

"What!?" Sasuke gasped aloud, witnessing the secret eye. 'Only Uchiha members have Sharingan! Does that mean…'

'**Oh, that changes the tide some.' **Kurokami admitted, witnessing Kakashi of 1,000 Jutsu and Zabuza of the Seven Swordsmen battle. **'Watch out though…'**

'I know,' Sakura cut off her spirit. 'There are clones nearby. I felt them. And a different presence too…' Fog began to roll in from all sides, startling the Konoha ninja.

"Kirigakure no Justu," Zabuza muttered, holding his hand in the proper seal. The three gennin were struck in the heart by killing intent. Sasuke and Naruto froze in their place and Sakura shook uncontrollably. Kurokami cursed and paid attention to Sakura's BPM, easing the girl out of the shocked state by radiating calming waves of chakra. This seemed to affect the boys as well, since they had relaxed from their stiff positions.

"Wh-what killing intent…" Sasuke rasped, imaged of his brother flashing briefly in his mind. "It's terrifying…"

"K-Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto called out, seeing his sensei and Zabuza locked in combat in the water. Zabuza had pulled a dirty trick and caged Kakashi with water. It was only time until they were wiped out, now.

"…Y-You two need… Need t-t-to free Kaka… Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura hoarsely said, clutching at her pounding heart. "If you d-don't… We h-have no chance."

"But Sakura-chan!" Naruto refused. He couldn't leave weakened Sakura by herself, guarding Tazuna! Sasuke nodded, not fond at all of leaving his future bride. He would protect her until the very end! From the ends of the world and the depths of the Earth itself… From all Ino-Dragons and Ramen-Monsters that stood in his path…!

"No!" she protested. Sakura, when her heart was near-dead and she knew how dim things were, lost all patience. Maybe it was Kurokami's influence while tending so close to her heart and the goddess' feeling of annoyance seeped into her own, but Sakura didn't care. "I said," she glared at Naruto, who immediately shrunk from the blood color Sakura's eyes darkened to, "go and _save_ Kakashi-sensei!" The Haruno girl's eyes widened and she bent over, hacking up some blood into the palm of her hand, staining it.

"Sakura!" Sasuke whispered, itching to comfort the sickly child. Her anger kept him away, though.

Kurokami growled at the two males. How dare they not listen to Sakura! She was in critical condition and they needed to move **now**! The demoness was about to take control over Sakura's body, but Tazuna interrupted her with his words.

"You guys…" he said, praising them with his eyes. He could see their worry for the girl and their teacher, even though the girl seemed to suddenly collapse. "Go on. I can take care of myself. Save your teacher!" Naruto and Sasuke glanced at each other before turning toward Sakura once more.

"Even if we go to save Kakashi, how will we get there?" Naruto asked his female teammate seriously. He sensed her change immediately; this was no longer their sweet, shy, reserved teammate…

This was a bloody, cynical, and ruthless persona that came with death…

Sasuke sensed it too. Sakura had always had a calming, soft aura about her, but now she was chilling and cold. He had to admit… It only made him want her more.

'Not only does is she just plain wonderful, she's strong and can take control!' Sasuke crooned. 'Oh, how beautiful our family will be!' He was shaken from his daydreaming when her no longer light voice had sounded.

"Listen here," she began deeply, like red wine, "Zabuza's holding up that cage with chakra. Get him away from it and he'll lose control over the chakra flow." She sighed and coughed a little. "You don't need to worry about the mizu bunshin… I'll take care of them. I don't know how you guys want to take down Zabuza though... Try figuring out a way to keep both hand occupied so he'll be forced to pull away from the cage. Get it?"

The males gulped and nodded together. Sakura hacked once.

"…Good. Now, get going. I'll get rid of the pests." The gennin pulled away from their brief huddle. Sasuke and Naruto ran forward, somehow communicating to one another through their eyes. When they smirked, Sakura sneered.

Kurokami was truly seeping into her host.

"All right!" Sakura yelled, her eyes hidden by the shadow her bangs made.

'**Remember how I showed you,'** Kurokami advised. **'Slowly, gently, and then suddenly push fiercely.'**

Sakura breathed in and stood as straight as she could in her condition. "Slowly," she muttered, breathing in deeply. She placed a foot stiffly in front of her and locked her other one. She concentrated her eyebrows furrowing. Slowly at first, she began to sweep her hands to the side, repeatedly. The shadows from the trees began to flow with her hand movements. "Gently," Sakura sighed, still sweeping her hands, but now raising them at the same time, like she was paint a hill with her hands. The affected shadows followed her movements to create waves of darkness. "Fiercely!" she shouted this time. She now pushed her hands once to the left as she had been when she was sweeping. Along with her hands, the large mass of shadow followed the motion and raged forth, like a giant wave. "Sei Ootsunami no Kage!"

Sasuke and Naruto were beginning to doubt Sakura's guarantee in taking out of the water clones, but just as they reached the lineup of clones, a large, black tsunami rushed over the clones, sweeping them away and dispersing them. They shared a proud look, knowing that piece of work was Sakura's doing, before running off to execute plan "Save Kakashi-sensei's Butt."

Sakura, in the background, sighed and collapsed to the ground. Tazuna hustled over, bending over to help the poor girl. "Your teammates are doing a number on Zabuza," he relayed to the fallen gennin. Indeed, Naruto was already behind the occupied Zabuza with a kunai ready. The Mist nin was holding the cage in one hand and a windmill shuriken in the other—he had to let go of the cage to protect himself. "Kakashi's freed, now," Tazuna continued. The jounin leapt up from his crouched position and gathered Naruto to drag him to shore.

"Great job, you guys!" Kakashi complimented, very impressed with their plan and teamwork. His moment was ruined, though, when he saw Sakura down.

"She's okay," Tazuna assured the trio of worried males. "Just tired."

"…G-good… j-job…" Sakura struggled to say with a soft smile, her quiet persona back. Kakashi growled and turned back to Zabuza.

"You man whore! Look what you did to Sakura! I'll kill you!" And, once again, the duo was swept up in another brawl. This time, Kakashi was pushing Zabuza back.

Sakura struggled to stand. She wanted to enjoy their victory too, even if she hadn't done much. Her first sight was Tazuna…

…And the water clone right behind him.

Her eyes widened. The clone Zabuza was ready to punch Tazuna right out of this lifetime!

Kurokami screamed her host's name, already knowing what the girl was going to do. **'Stop, Sakura! You're going to seriously regret it!'** When the girl said nothing but summon all her strength, Kurokami shouted a vulgar word and literally wrapped everything she had around Sakura's heart—the Ultimate Shield… Inbotate.

"Watch out, Tazuna-san!" Sakura yelled, pushing away the man so that the clone would hit her. Time seemed to go in slow motion—Sasuke's eye widened farther than they ever had as everything registered in his mind. Naruto continuously called out Sakura's name while reacting just a little too late. Kakashi and Zabuza paused their battle to see what was wrong, slowly turning to se their worst nightmare.

Zabuza's clone continued to attack, its punch going straight to Sakura's chest. Her eyes widened as the air was knocked out of her and pain exploded in her chest.

The next thing anyone knew, Sakura was screaming something ungodly and propelling back into a tree.

"**SAKURA!!!**" they all screamed, only able to watch the girl's limp body sail back into a tree and crash.

Her body hurt horribly and her sight was blackening. Sakura coughed once and the last thing she was able to see out of her failing eyes was Naruto and Sasuke running towards her and Kakashi releasing a new torrent of angry jutsu upon Zabuza.

'…Is this the end…?'

.-.

...Hehehe.

So I gave Sakura an alternate persona for those "close call" times. This is a result from Kurokami who… Well, I can't spoil it. All you gotta know is that Sakura can take charge and ride 'em like a pro.

AND YES, THE SUSPENSE WILL KILL YOU.

Translations:

Zori/the open-toed shoes which are extremely common in a ninja's gear

Yakuza/Japanese mafia

Kirigakure no Jutsu/Mist Village Technique/technique that summons a wave of fog to be used a cover

Mizu Bunshin/Water Clone/technique used to create a clone out of water that can deal and sustain minimal damage

Sei Ootsunami no Kage/Sacred Giant Tsunami of Shadow/technique unique to the Haruno Clan that manipulates a nearby source of great shadow into a menacing tsunami that crushes anything in its path

Inbotate/Final Shield/last and greatest form of protection Kurokami can provide to Sakura's insides, most specifically her heart by wrapping all her energy around a certain area like a cocoon

.-.

…Holy pumpernickel.

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.-.

20 Days…


	7. 6: Closer to Death

Summary: Once upon a time in the ninja world, a sickly baby girl was born… her guardian deity saved her, but she ended up inheriting the goddess' attraction pheromone… For better or worse. Slightly AU, Saku/Almost Everyone

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Rating: T

Story Genre: General/Humor/Action-Adventure/Drama/Slight Romance, Horror, Spiritual, Angst, Suspense

Chapter Genre: Drama/General

Warnings: Explanation and brief moment of Sakura death.

Page Count: 11

Word Count: **4444**!!!

Musical Inspiration: Ashitageru (Anime: Disgaea), Soul Eater (Anime, OST)

Notes: Kurokami is forced to make an important decision; recuperation and training!

.-.

**kakurenbo**

-Hide and Seek-

:Closer to Death:

.-.

_(???, ???, June 24th, ???)_

'What?' Sakura thought to herself as she lay on the cold floor of wherever she was. There was a light gray fog rolling around her body, and as far as she could see up, there was nothing but darkness. Her peripheral vision caught a slight glimpse of a clear structure to her left. 'Why does this place seem so familiar?' She tried to sit up, but an excruciating pain dwelling in her chest kept her down. Gently with a shaking hand, she felt the area right above her heart. When she brought up her hand, Sakura was able to see a dark liquid smeared all over her palm and fingers. This time she couldn't help but think aloud, "What?"

"**Amaterasu dammit,"** Kurokami cursed, slowly walking over to Sakura's prone form. She leaned over her host, roaming her eyes over the white dress Sakura was in again before settling on the bloody splatter on the right side of her chest. Her heart.

"K-Kurokami…?" Sakura was confused. Where was she that she could see Kurokami completely and still have her own form as well? Usually, she was only able to see Kurokami if she looked inside herself, never her own visage. It was theoretically impossible to have two souls living in the same body appear at the same time…

Kurokami kneeled and slid her arms under Sakura's back and bottom. Slowly, she tilted the girl up and lifted her, then placed her down softly so that she could stand on her own two feet. Sakura wobbled for a moment, clinging to the goddess for balance. **"Sakura… I…" **The once-demon was expressing guilt, but the pinkette couldn't fathom why. Kurokami sighed and pulled the girl tight to her chest. **"I'm sorry. Everything I've done… It's all led up to this. I couldn't protect you…"**

"Wh-what?" That had to be the third time she'd said that word. "'Couldn't protect me?' But I'm right here… But, then again, you are too…" Sakura's softer ruby eyes bore into Kurokami's blood red ones. The black haired woman was frowning sadly, the first time Sakura had ever seen such an expression. "Kurokami… What's wrong?" The woman gave a listless, hollow chuckle.

"**I wasn't able to protect you well enough, Sakura,"** the taller one answered. **"The only reason you're here is because I'm keeping you here… Which is why we're both in your mind at the same time."** A shocked gasp.

"My mind?!" Sakura turned around, ignoring the pain in her chest at her twisting. She remembered her nightmare a week ago; the glass rose, the forever darkness, the black fog, and the demonic face below…

This was the same place! But, she realized, there were differences. The rose wasn't a bud—it had bloomed, its petals slightly overlapping their neighbors. The fog around her feet wasn't as dark as before, either. Also, when she looked down, expecting to see those glowing eyes, Sakura saw nothing but the gray fog. She couldn't see the deep abyss below her feet anywhere. She was reminded of sitting on a cloud. It was a pleasant silence.

Kurokami bit her lip and looked to the side. She gnawed at the plump flesh, hard enough to draw blood. She just couldn't face the little girl she had save so many years ago for her own selfish needs. Sakura had grown wonderfully under the care of her family and tutelage of the goddess… And now Kurokami was going to selfishly use Sakura again.

"**Sakura, you need to understand that in the real world… You're dead."** Her eyes were wide open, like a deer in headlights when she heard it. Sakura rolled the word on her tongue.

"Dead… Dead… I'm dead…"

Kurokami released the young girl and grabbed her hand, pulling her forward a little roughly. Sakura jumped out of her blank state of mind, curiously looking up to the goddess. The two were steadily making their way to the edges of the petals; was Kurokami going to kill them in her own mind? Sakura winced and screwed her eyes shut, blindly allowing the goddess to tug the pale girl along. To her surprise, even after Sakura thought she stepped off the rose, they weren't crashing. Nervously preparing for the worst, the pinkette cracked an eye open, to see that a staircase made from glass had appeared. The Haruno checked behind her, seeing that they were quickly moving away from the rose, and when they reached a certain point on the stairwell, the rose disappeared completely under a thick blanket of fog. Sakura looked forward and light flooded her vision. Before her was something like Heaven; bathed in pure light, clouds created the floor, the sky was visible, and both the moon and sun could be seen. Constellations could be seen in all the sky, faint lines connecting the dots to make the shapes. There were small temples scattered about the cloud ground, each having different characteristics and decorations. Sakura could see darker clouds rolling behind vast forests of cheery trees at the edges of the area, as if they marked the end of the space. A large cherry tree stood elegantly tall and proud in the center of everything. A very small shrine was stationed in front of the tree, and Sakura thought it oddly resembled the temple for Kurokami back in the Haruno city.

"Is this Heaven?" Sakura asked aloud, entranced y the sheer beauty and serenity the higher place held. Kurokami wanted to chuckle at the girl's amazement, but couldn't. Deep inside, she knew that if Sakura was here, things were going to get painful and complicated…

"**No," **Kurokami answered simply. **"This is my godly realm. I fondly call it Ikamonoten."**

"What are we doing here, then?" Sakura asked timidly, nerved by the older (much older) woman's unexpected introversion.

"…**I am going to save your life by destroying it."**

Her tone was deathly and cold, yet at the same time loathing. Sakura froze and shakily turned to the resident celestial being. Confusion and fright were evident in the weak girl's eyes, while nothing was evident in the goddess'. Kurokami used Sakura's silence to explain what was to follow.

"**I need to explain some things to you, Sakura. I am a goddess fused to your soul… If you were to die, then I as well would. I could not ascend to the higher planes in which gods live, since you are not 'holy' enough. Do you understand me?"**

Sakura nodded slowly, her eyes still wide.

"**Good. Eventually, when you were older and had time to experience your life… I was planning to begin training you to become a goddess, by taking you as my daughter in Heaven. Becoming something more than life itself is a painful, long, and heartbreaking experience—one can not bring along lovers or family to the world of gods. I'd have to gently begin separating your soul from this plane of existence so that you could ascend with me…**

"**But now,"** Kurokami grit her teeth to keep the cracking in her voice hidden, **"you're dead. I didn't expect this to happen, even if your heart was pitifully weak… I thought you were going to make it for a lot more time, until your heart finally stopped working. I'm being forced to defy the **_**laws of nature**_**, now."**

Sakura hid her mouth with her unstained hand. All this time, Kurokami was planning to take her away from Earth? Planning to make her a goddess…?

"**Before, I was gently inserting some of my essence into yours. It's how gods make new gods, other than just reproducing… Unfortunately, in order to save you, I'm going to have to force a lot of spiritual power into your soul to jump-start yours…"**

"It's going to be painful," Sakura inferred, looking up at Kurokami with lifeless eyes. "I want to be with my friends, Kurokami… I don't want to die…"

"**Even so, the chances your heart is going to be able to take the pain are… Very low. And I'm going to have to start training you much sooner than I expected… Certain people are going to be interested in you…"**

"I don't care!" Sakura shouted. It wasn't as loud as a normal person's yell, but it echoed ominously. "I want Ino-chan, Hinata-chan, Naruto-kun, Sasuke, and Kakashi-sensei… I want Mother and Father! I want Musumane-san! I want to pray with the priestesses, I want to train with my team, I want to have fun times with my friends…!"

"**Eventually you'll be distanced from them!"** Kurokami interrupted, her tone forced and hurt. **"I don't know how long it'll take, but your soul will be so unattached to this world… You'll feel like an outsider, even if you have great relationships with everyone!** **Nothing will make you happy anymore, no matter what you do! What'll you do when that happens?!"**

"**Then I'll enjoy the time I have!**" Sakura screamed, her face flushed. She was crying, tears flowing down her red cheeks and falling into the clouds. This was the first time in her life Sakura was screamed angrily; it was a shrill, chilling sound. Kurokami, shocked into silence, sealed her lips into a thin line. "I d-don't want to st-stop living m-my life," she wept, hiding her face in her hands. "Even if I'll, I'll b-be torn away f-from my l-loved ones, at l-least I had s-some time w-with them…" Kurokami turned away, and looked up into the fake sky above her.

"…" The goddess sighed and shed a single tear, knowing all the pain the girl would have to endure form now on for the rest of her life. **"The life ahead of you now is a long, agonizing road. But, if you are strong enough, then I suppose we'll make it through."** Sakura's tears subsided, her face still red. The pinkette looked up to the woman, who looked down in return.

"Let's do it." A gentle smile adorning her face, Sakura stood to accompany her now-twice savior to the small temple in the middle of the fake heaven.

It doesn't matter how much pain I take, she thought determined, her eyes turning hard as she gazed at the very intricate seals and signs etched into the floor of the temple, I'll be reunited with my friends in the land of the living. Kurokami breathed in, laying Sakura down in the center of the large spell circle. Bringing her two white hands to her chest, the higher being seemingly pulled out a white, glowing orb that floated right above her hands.

"**Amaterasu be with us,"** she breathed, kissing the orb lightly. It turned black, but still retained a glow. Regretfully, the raven haired beauty held the sphere above Sakura's bloody chest. The many inscriptions in the floor burned white then closer the ball got to Sakura's heart. Both females closed their eyes; Sakura in a moment of serenity and calm, Kurokami in a moment of sadness and lamentation. She pushed the orb into Sakura's chest.

"**To give birth to a new god. Let the pain be your path to Heaven."**

_(Wave, Path of White Fog, June 23__rd__, 5:56PM)_

The two boys huddled over Sakura's prone form, shaking with tears. No… Sakura couldn't be…

"S-Sakura-chan…?" Naruto asked, very much in denial, and raised a hand to shake the girl's still shoulder. No response. Sasuke coldly and roughly grabbed the girl's pale hand and slid down her torn jacket arm to feel her pulse.

"Nothing…" Sasuke said emotionlessly. 'I wondered when she would go. What use is a ninja with a weak heart?' All feeling of romance had been erased from his mind, now returning to a more fitting sense of mind of apathy and anger. 'I couldn't save her… How will I ever beat Itachi if I can't save one helpless girl?' Strangely, though, he felt like he should've been more broken, but shrugged it off. The feeling was merely a ghost of something he couldn't remember.

Sakura's dead face was oddly similar to that of her sleeping face. She was so still… But, at least, when she slept, her chest moved up and down…

Naruto began crying. His friend was dead… One of his only friends was dead! Kyuubi, within his cage, frowned at the pitiful boys, the Sakura clone in the background, slowly fading away. Their feelings of love and desire had disappeared with her death, as the affect of her pheromone only lasted with her life. He, however, could still feel the lingering loving feeling…

_**Her soul is not yet dead… What is keeping her spirit here? Something is going to happen…**_

As soon as Kyuubi had come to that conclusion, Sakura jumped to life and began screaming an earsplitting wail of pain. She writhed and clawed at her chest, only stopping her screaming to hack up a small mouthful of blood. She cried from the mere hurt. It was like her body was being ripped apart! Something was being wedged within her body, pushing and shaping it into a different structure to fit its needs. Her entire body began burning as she felt her chakra coils and points rearrange. Everything was simply aching to destroy itself—whatever Kurokami had put into her body was tearing her apart from the inside.

"_STOP THE PAIN!"_ she screeched in Chinese, not able to translate anything into Japanese at the moment. _"PLEASE! IT HURTS SO MUCH! AAAAHHHHH!!"_ Naruto, shocked and scared, grabbed her flailing and twitching hands, holding them close to his chest. Sasuke jumped, trying to hold down her legs so that she didn't kick them by accident or hurt herself. Strangely enough, her skin was burning hot, not cold like a dead person's should've been. What was going on with her body!?

Her heart felt like it was going to explode. It was beating so fast and irregularly; it hammered in her chest at times, while other moments it would pound, stop, and pound again. Her mind, however, was filled with determination even through her indescribable pain.

'I… Will… Stay alive!' Sakura grit her teeth, refusing to scream any longer. She would win against the pain, she wouldn't lose against that orb. Kurokami as counting on her—she was counting on herself! 'Never… I'll force myself to live! No matter how bad the pain! I'll win!' With that proclamation, everything stopped. Her body stopped burning, her muscles no longer felt like they were being stabbed, her chakra system cooled down; her tears stopped falling, and her heart returned to normal, beating now with a sense of strength she had never felt before. She still couldn't make out things with her eyes, only counting on her briefly impaired hearing to hear what was going on. She could hear Naruto's soft cries for her and could feel Sasuke's shaken stare bore into her half-open eyes.

"Sakura-chan?!" Naruto squawked nervously, trying to get a response from the… dead? Girl. She was panting and her eyes were murky, still unseeing from the previous pain.

"I…" she whispered hoarsely, still breathing harshly. "I… Promise… To live…" She collapsed into a deep sleep, falling into Sasuke's arms, since Naruto's hands were gripped in her hands. The two boys shared a look.

'She returned from the dead…' Sasuke thought, his eyes overrun with poorly hidden emotions. 'She won't die again! I swear upon my duty as her knight!' Love once again burning in his eyes, he held the girl close, managing to keep his tears at bay. Naruto blushed and gently pried his hands from Sakura's, quietly speaking to his demon.

'Kyuubi,' he began shakily, 'I want to protect her. Will you help me? I never… I never want her to die again.' The demon smirked and nodded, curling his tail around the bright and alive Sakura clone.

_**I understand now,**_ the demon thought to his self. He had clearly felt it during Sakura's writhing hands… The force of a great being he could never dream to stand up against… The force of a god. The girl was inhabited by a god, and he knew exactly what was going on. Sakura… Was going to surpass them all.

Sasuke lifted the deadweight girl up, amazed that she wasn't as light as he had imagined. Thankfully, however, the weight was less when he linked her arms around his neck. Of course, it could've just been the very strong happiness he felt from the actual feeling of her arms around him… But he wasn't complaining. The two boys (Naruto glaring at Sasuke the entire time) walked over to Kakashi, who had Zabuza trapped up on a tree. The livid Hatake was about to land the finishing blow on the limp, bloody man when a long needle struck right into Zabuza's neck, killing him.

A hunter nin leapt down to kneel by Zabuza's fallen body. He had long, brown hair put up into a bun and wore a green kimono. The traditional Mist hunter ninja mask concealed his face and identity. "Thank you for weakening Zabuza so I could get him," the mysterious boy politely murmured, inspecting the damage done to the body. His voice was feminine as well.

'He must be my team's age,' Kakashi thought, impressed. 'He is a powerful boy…'

"How did you kill him so easily?!" Naruto yelled in desperation. "We fought him so hard and he even took out Sakura-chan… How could you just leap in and throw one measly senbon and kill him like that?!" The ninja froze for a moment at the mention of the Haruno girl's name, but fell back into a relaxed position after a moment.

"He's a hunter ninja," Kakashi informed the blonde and the masked ninja picked up Zabuza's body. "Hunter nin will hunt down nuke nin and kill them. They then destroy the boy so that the secrets of the village do not land up in another village." The hunter nodded solemnly, Zabuza draped over his shoulders.

"I will take my leave now to deal with the body," the mysterious boy announced, disappearing in a swirl of leaves. Naruto, angrily clenching his fist, punched the tree nearest him—ironically, it was the tree Zabuza was pushed against.

'So strong…' he thought roughly, trying to not bite through his lip. 'It's not fair!'

"Come on you guys," Kakashi began somewhat shakily. "We have to go…" And he fell.

"Kwah…! Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto ran over to his fallen teacher, while Sasuke smirked, still grudging over the team's first meeting. Tazuna came over, worried for the man's health as well as the unconscious female. If the teacher was out, what would happen if they were attacked?

"It's just chakra exhaustion from using the Sharingan," Kakashi muttered, laying flat on the floor. "It won't be long until I…" Tazuna sighed and propped the newly asleep man over his shoulder. Weariness etched itself deeply into the jounin's face.

"Listen, my house isn't very far from here." Tazuna began to walk forward, Sasuke with Sakura and Naruto following. "We can get there and give these guys some medical care, okay?" The two gennin nodded, looking forward.

'Sakura-chan…' they thought simultaneously. Sasuke tightened his grip on her, unconsciously bringing her head up to rest in the crook of his neck tenderly. Naruto looked back, his mouth splitting into a snarl, before looking forward once more. Sasuke could have Sakura for the moment, but he'd have her for himself, sooner than later.

Kyuubi, laughing wickedly, assured his container that it would be sooner.

_(Sakura's Mind, Ikamonoten, June 23__rd__, 6:12PM)_

Sakura, for the entire time she had been asleep in the outside world, had done nothing but simply lay on the floor of the small temple. The spell circle had lost its light and was back to its original, white paint-like look. Kurokami was mindlessly brushing Sakura's flared hair, eyes looking off into a wall of the shrine, seemingly contemplating something.

"**I was a very selfish person," **Kurokami randomly started, not changing expression or view. Sakura, too tired to respond, only stared at her denizen goddess as she continued. **"And young, too. Young and even more beautiful than now… I had many men and women lusting after my body and love. One especially was a male demon named Yamata no Orochi. He was a serpentine demon represented in the form as an eight-headed snake, but in human form took on the shape of a tall, white skinned man with long, ashen black hair, and golden yellow eyes meant to hypnotize prey into submission. Orochi was incredibly smitten with me to the point of obsession, so much so that he antagonized me with romance and acts of love."** Kurokami sighed and fingered her long, raven hair, thinking that it resembled _his_ just a little too much, before cursing the color of her own skin. Frowning for a moment, Kurokami moved along the wall, following the paintings displaying two black haired figures and at the end, a pink haired one. **"One day, I grew irritated with him and pushed him away after he had attempted to try and push affection onto my person, claiming he "could never have me, and would have to love me even after his death." He must've taken this the wrong way, as immediately after he jumped from the tallest mountain in the world to kill himself, thinking it would mean I would love him.**

"**He clawed his way out of Hell, and came before me in undead wickedness, proclaiming he was ready to accept my love and give me many children. Disgusted at the thing he had turned to, I ran away rather cowardly. I realized he would never stop chasing me, and I needed to lose him by disappearing for awhile. Then…"** Kurokami grew silent and muttered, **"…you were born."**

Sakura kept her mouth sealed in a thin, pale line, prompting (or not, Kurokami was going to go on no matter what the pinkette did) the celestial being to continue.

Giving a hollow chuckle, Kurokami continued to the picture decrypting the scene of her entering and saving Sakura. **"I needed somewhere to hide. Toki chose a good time to give birth to a daughter with a defective body… A new body filled with damage is an easy body to enter and change to my needs. You were my hiding place. Of course, I realized what would happen, but I had figured that, in the long run, I'd have more good than bad."**

So, she was a scapegoat. Sakura, in moment of rare apathy and self-cruelty, thought, yes, that fit her personality perfectly; the shy people were always stepped on and used, weren't they?

"**Now, however, something I had not originally seen for many years to come has already descended upon us: the appearance of Orochi. He wants you, Sakura, because you are now me. If he gets you, he gets me. He wants to love us, like he wanted to love me for his entire life. I thought he would give me more time to accustom you to the sensation of what god-ship is truly like before he would strike… I was wrong."** Kurokami broke her gaze from the decorated walls to bore her eyes into Sakura's soft rubies. **"Tomorrow, I begin training you in the arts of a higher being. You are not going to be taken away because of lack of work on my part. Are you ready?"**

Sakura, closing her eyes and letting a sigh escape her white lips, nodded slightly and rolled her head to her savior's direction.

"As long as it is worth the pain I just experienced," she breathed out with difficulty, "I am willing… To begin learning." Kurokami smirked and leant back on her arms, using them to support herself.

"**Good, because our first exercise is one of the hardest: completely destroying your chakra system."**

.-.

AND SO, WITH A FLOURISH AND A DRAMATIC POSE, MISS CHOCOLAT APPEARS FROM THE DARKNESS TO REVEAL ANOTHER CHAPTER.

To simply explain my lack of update: we (as in my family) just moved to Florida. And I'm back on my meds, so I'm an emotional hurricane inside (while on the outside I'm an eccentric sarcasm whore) with bad muscle and joint pain. Not to mention on of my medicines was just upped to three times as much of a dosage, so MORE PAIN FOR ME. It might be shorter than usual, but I thought having any more would be awkward. Plus, I figure you want an update, like, now, since I'm an über random updater.

And my little brother fractured his arm today. I knew it was bound to happen sometime—he's a skateboarder.

SO. We've figured out some stuff. Let's recap, shall we?

-Kurokami was intending to turn Sakura into a goddess, though she has to do it on a much sooner time schedule than before.

-Sakura died then came back to life.

-Kurokami was Yamata no Orochi's love interest. She used Sakura to hide from the demon, though now he knows her location and is coming after Sakura.

ALSO! If you can get a close enough answer to my question, I'll give you a special mention in the next chapter reviewer section!

How does Kurokami's pheromone work?

**Tell me:** what it does, how it affects people of each gender, and how long the affect lasts (HINT: a specific time or date that should've been apparent in this chapter to the close reader). Give me any other information, too, for bonus points.

Bonus Question: Which game features Yamata no Orochi as the first main boss?

Translations:

Ikamonten/Fake Heaven/Kurokami's godly realm accessed normally through Sakura's mind

.-.

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XxIceHeartxXxDragonSoulxX

Dazzlingninjagirl09

I'm-Akemi-chan

AlphaSigma

The Sociopathism of Trees

DigiLoveReader

Psycho-Panda-Chan

NinjaFoodLover

TheAttentionJustEncouragesHer

BulletGirl-Cherryblossom

Tickledorteen

SB01

Asymally

00Sakura00 **x3**

-carsly- **x3**

I3ART

TsukiMegumi-sama

Yellowcamaro

Yuchi1994

..lives

LadyDream3512

Deadpeace6868

Bad fanfic **(Woot, my first flame? of the story! I don't know if it's a flame or not… Maybe just constructive criticism without the constructive?)**

VALLED

Himeko63

Bhel-Elyrss

.-.

20 Days…


	8. 7: Chakra Reject

Summary: Once upon a time in the ninja world, a sickly baby girl was born… her guardian deity saved her, but she ended up inheriting the goddess' attraction pheromone… For better or worse. Slightly AU, Saku/Almost Everyone

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Rating: T

Story Genre: General/Humor/Action-Adventure/Drama/Slight Romance, Horror, Spiritual, Angst, Suspense

Chapter Genre: General/Romance/Drama/Action/Spiritual/Humor

Warnings: !WARNING! AKATSUKI SIGHTING !WARNING!

Page Count: 17

Word Count: 7908

Musical Inspiration: Naruto (Anime, OST), FripSide (Artist)

Notes: Let the training begin! Mysterious meetings hidden in the mist…

.-.

**kakurenbo**

-Hide and Seek-

:Chakra Reject:

.-.

_(Wave, Mist Village, Tsunami's Home, June 26__th__, 3:19PM)_

Light from the outside peered into the quaint bedroom, revealing the small huddle of something under a blanket. Its side rose up and down in a rhythmic pattern, signaling that the bulge was alive and breathing. At the top of the light comforter was a small peak of candy pink hair, a small hand slightly peeking out. It had been the same for two, almost three days now. Sasuke, gazing sullenly at the girl under the blanket, took his hand from the curtains and moved to sit by her side. He had been doing so for the past few days on a schedule—he would get a chance to be alone with Sakura for and hour after Kakashi and Naruto, a fair agreement. Occasionally, when he and Naruto switched, they would quietly stare at each other before moving on. This shift had not been that way; instead, Naruto looked a little livelier than before, even going out so far to knock on his teammate's slumped shoulder.

Sighing lightly, Sasuke laid down on his stomach next to Sakura, resting his head on his folded arms so that he could watch her rest comfortably. He slowly grasped a small pinch of the blanket, pulling it down so that he could see the sleeping face of his beloved, instantly swooning at her angelic expression. Uncharacteristically smiling, he slid his hand to hold hers delicately. Just a little bit more daring than usual, Sasuke snuggled closer to the point that his nose was a breath away from hers, dangerously close to an Eskimo Kiss.

"I hope you wake up soon," the Uchiha whispered, tickled pink by how his breath blew some of the rose bangs on Sakura's head. A normal person would have missed the small sliver of light pink that was exposed due to the blow, but Sasuke was a ninja trained to notice such things and was a seasoned Sakura-stalk—_watcher_. 'What was that?' he wondered, letting go of Sakura's small fingers to brush some of her hair away from her face. Behind her thick bangs a simple pink circle stood, proudly displayed on her slightly larger than normal forehead, almost matching her hair color perfectly. Sasuke traced it, quirking an eyebrow up when he noticed that it wasn't raised up or pressed into her skin, but smooth, like it was a tattoo. "What kind of marking is this?" He had never seen anything like a circle-shaped seal or birthmark, though he did know that the Haruno clan's insignia was a white ring. Perhaps it was a clan mark? Some clans did have their symbols tattooed or imprinted into the skin at birth, instead of having it sewn into clothing. 'But I've never seen a Haruno with a circle, and Sakura-chan wears the Haruno circle on her jacket!' Shaking his head, Sasuke patted the hair back into place, only to blush profusely and rapidly scoot back to the wall, hitting it with a bang. After he had put the hair back into place, he had looked at her face, only to see _Sakura's eyes wide open_.

"…" The pinkette was silent, staring at Sasuke relentlessly. Sasuke, gulping, crawled back over and began to apologize shakily. "…" The raven haired boy bowed to the floor, suppressing a cry of nervousness. Still the heiress did not speak, or even move. Cautiously, Sasuke sat back up, his lip quivering and his hand twitching.

"S-Sakura?" he called, awaiting a response, wincing in preparation for some kind of scream or insult. He did not get one. "…Sakura?" Stretching out his pale hand, Sasuke swept his hand over her face, as if he was closing the eyes of a dead person. When he took his palm away, her eyes were closed again and she still breathed peacefully. Rather stunned, the boy collapsed onto the floor and smiled in relief. Sakura was still asleep!

Turning away, the self-proclaimed knight went off to grab Sakura's bloodied clothing for her, stained from the battle three days ago. Humming a song his mother sang to him many years ago, he skipped and danced, elated to just be in Sakura's presence.

"…" From behind the prancing avenger, Sakura lay on the floor, her eyes open in disbelief and silenced from absurdity, just woken up. Right in front of her poor, shocked eyes, Sasuke was twirling happily, swinging her dirty clothes around. The look of pure _joy_ on his face nearly sent her running for the hills to search for her real teammate.

'…**Oh my god,'** Kurokami struggled to say, restraining her laughter as best she could. **'This… This is the real Sasuke?! BWAHAHAHAHA!! HE'S SO… SO… GIRLY!!'** The goddess fell onto the hypothetical floor, rolling and clutching her aching sides in glee. Tears were falling from her eyes, rolling down her cheeks and passing her open mouth while she guffawed. Sakura could not share her thoughts, still too traumatized by the situation. Slowly, she leaned up, resorting to using her arm to support her self by leaning on it. Her chest tingled with a stinging sensation from underneath the bandages running across her chest, but the melt-down her brain was experiencing kept it from recognizing it. Her mouth was wide open, like she wanted to say something but couldn't, while her eyes followed her teammate's every movement and blissful twirl. Mid-turn, Sasuke caught sight of the gawking girl, freezing in the middle of his dance. His mouth opened too, twitching at the sides, and his eyes grew large and fearful, twitching as well.

The two stared for awhile, before turning away and returning their normal selves.

"Th-that didn't h-happen," Sakura chirped, trying her hardest to not cry in desperation. Stuff like that couldn't be _unseen_!! Sasuke nodded stiffly, robotically walking over to hand the female her clothes. Sakura took them and unfolded the articles of cloth only to frown. There were tears in both her dress and jacket, blood staining the fabric, and dirt smeared all over it. Even if she did love her jacket and its protection against people's eyes ad the sun's rays, the roseate couldn't bring her self to put it on with so much filth caked onto it. Sasuke seemed to realize this as well, made a sound, and disappeared down the hall. Sakura sat there for a moment, listening to the last bits of Kurokami's giggles as the demoness calmed down. Soon enough, a stampede could be heard from outside her doorway and three males were pushing through her door. Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke all crammed through the door, squirming and yelling, trying to get to their little princess. They all were kicked in by a peeved Tsunami, her leg still raised from the kick. Suddenly, her face bloomed into a motherly smile and she lifted the girl up to cradle her in her very affectionate arms.

"Good afternoon, dear!" Tsunami sang, rocking Sakura back and forth as if she was an infant. The pinkette looked at Tazuna, hoping for some kind of assistance, only to get a shrug and pitiful smile. The old man always knew his daughter wanted a daughter of her own…

Kakashi popped up and managed to take the gennin back and place her on the ground. Tsunami's hair flew up into the air evilly, and the men could've sworn they heard a cat hiss somewhere. "Uh… So, um, how are you feeling, Sakura?" All seemed to stop as everyone turned their attentions to the bandaged girl.

"F-fine…" Sakura looked nervously to the side. "B-but I would l-like some clo-o-othes…" Tsunami, once again turning into Medusa, screeched something inhumane and threw all the blushing males out of the room.

"BEGONE, YOU FILTHY MALES!"

The four and stood up against the wall, braced form the impact. Kakashi began to stutter something, but Tsunami would have nothing of that.

"_**GYOOOOOOOH!!!**_"

They all ran down the stairs, fearing for their lives.

_(Wave, Mist Village, Tsunami's Home, June 26__th__, 3:42PM)_

"Kuhu~!" Tsunami appeared in the doorway to the dining room, Sakura cutely following like a baby duck. She was not wearing her customary red jacket, though. The only things they could recognize were her gray, knee high boots and bandages (albeit this time white ones) around her wrists, going to her knuckles. She was wearing a shot kimono in a nice, light blue color that was decorated with zigzag lines and dots along the edges, somewhat reminiscent of a wave. A pale blue, near white sash was tied around her waist and knotted into a somewhat ridiculously large butterfly bow, the tails nearly reaching the backs of her knees. The bow was decorated in a similar pattern as the dress. Underneath her dress, iron gray short leggings poked out to keep any unintentional panty-shots at bay. The red at the top of her boots clashed oddly and looked random, but Sakura was happy regardless with the spare clothes Tsunami had found her.

The three Konoha nin gulped audibly together—they had never seen so much… Skin, from Sakura's body. Tazuna seemed a little shocked by the pure _whiteness_ of her skin, not truly believing the girl wasn't some kind of albino. The girl in question hobbled from one foot to the other, blushing a little and sitting down to eat lunch. The eldest man in the room snorted before turning to his daughter and commenting on the choice of replacement dress.

"What about it?" she replied indigenously, huffing and crossing her arms. "Those were the only things that fit her… And besides, that style was popular when I was a kid! …_You_ were the one that bought me that, you know." Tazuna went silent, turned to Sakura, and complimented on her kimono. The Haruno quirked up a smile as best as she could before reaching to grab a pair of chopsticks. Naruto watched as she neatly broke them in two straight down the middle evenly, her blue nail polish catching his eye. Sakura tried her hardest not to notice this, and turned to the fish on the table, remembering the fuss Tsunami had made to paint the blue color on her.

_(Ten Minutes Prior)_

"_Pleeease?" Tsunami whined, tugging at Sakura's hands. "Nothing major—just some nice blue! I can't paint my son's nails, and I get bored with my own!" The pinkette mumbled something and gave the woman her hands, noticing the purple markings on them, beginning to curl up her wrist._

'…_Those are new,' Sakura commented as Tsunami took her hands gently to begin the process of applying the color. 'Where'd those come from?'_

'_**It's… They're like… A gauge of sorts.' **__Kurokami was tripping over her words. __**'The seals will move across your body in junction with your training progress. Once it covers all of you, then you are able to ascend.'**_

_Sakura nodded faintly, happy that the kind mother was too busy concentrating on her fingers to notice the gesture. 'How am I going to do that, anyway? Fly into the sky?' Kurokami snorted._

'_**No. The markings are the seals we require to get you up into Heaven are the purple things. Once they're complete, we'll use your entire body as sacrifice to grant our souls passage into Heaven.'**__ Sakura was silent. __**'What? You thought a trip to Heaven was **_**free**_**? Besides, what use are we going to have for a soulless body?'**__ After that, Kurokami muttered something describing the horrors that could happen if a certain evil snake got his hands on such a thing._

'_I guess it's a good thing people are used to seeing me in long sleeves, then,' Sakura chirped, either hiding her inner feelings or genuinely excited. "Ts-Tsunami-san?"_

_She did not look up from Sakura's blue nails, now applying the clear finish. "Mm?"_

"_Do you m-mind if I trouble y-you for s-some gauze, bandages, o-or tape? I…" A pause to think of an excuse. "…I u-usually hide the m-marks." Tsunami hummed in response, which Sakura took as an affirmative. "Thanks."_

_(Current Time)_

Sakura stared hard at her newly tattooed hands before immersing herself in a good, sea-borne meal. While there were not many other kinds of foods, such as vegetables and fruits, the fish were abundant.

"'Ike da fush?" Tazuna asked from around his own mouthful. "We may n't 'ave much erse, but er fushung ind'stry 's gread." Tsunami flung her chopstick with deadly accuracy at her father, striking him right in the forehead as punishment for bad table manners.

Kakashi, feeling like now was the best time to start talking began. "So… Team, I'm very happy to announce we will begin training today. We should prepare for Zabuza." Naruto snorted and glanced up from his ravenously devoured meal to his teacher… His _crutch-reliant_ teacher. Kakashi could already see the oncoming, snide remark, cheerfully choosing to ruffle the blonde's hair and cut his off prematurely. "And, yes, Naruto, this is a training exercise that I can teach you while like this." Sasuke, ever eager to train and become stronger to protect his princess, gulped down the last of his fish.

"It doesn't matter how much you train!" a small, whining voice wrongly advised from the doorway. The small son of Tsunami, Inari, stood in his usual green overalls and white hat. "You'll never be able to stop Gato… Not even heroes can!"

"Inari!" Tsunami flung her other chopstick at the boy, but he caught it and returned it. However, he did not have monstrous aim like his mother, and ended up hitting the younger girl seated next to Tsunami: Sakura. She took the blow without moving, or even indicating she felt it. This proved true when she continued to eat her sushi in peace, only somewhat perturbed by everyone's stares.

"I'M SORRY, ONEE-CHAN!" Inari flew to Sakura, enveloping her in a bear hug the involved him wrapping all appendages around the girl's torso. "I didn't mean to hit you… And I didn't mean what I said earlier!" The Haruno simply sat there, stilled from confusion. The only clue was the pink eyebrow rising up, while the other bent downward. Kakashi thought it to be a most _endearing_ expression.

'I was hit?' Sakura asked her savior, her mental projection turning towards the visage of Kurokami questionably (after the dying thing, they discovered that they could now completely see one another Sakura's mind normally), to which Kurokami shrugged and mentioned something about how all the pain from the initial soul transfer had probably disrupted some of her nerves in terms of pain.

"But," Inari continued, "the _other, useless_ ninja probably couldn't stand a chance against Gato!" Naruto was quick to climb over the table, infuriated; thankfully, Sasuke was there to latch onto the jinchuuriki's coat to prevent him from destroying any good food and potentially the young boy. "Especially the two young ones. The blonde doofus and emo kid with the duck butt hair look absolutely worthless!" Sasuke was tempted to let the rabid Naruto go.

"Ja," Kakashi weakly called out, seeing the danger and potential fight brewing. He had to move fast. "Let's get going, okay? We've got to start working now, okay? Okay?" Naruto and Sasuke stood up immediately, and moved so fast out the door a dust cloud was picked up. Sakura, with a timid face, stood as well, but bowed to thank Tsunami for everything, pried the clinging child off her, cleaned up her mess, thanked _Tazuna_, cleaned up Naruto's and Sasuke's messes, thanked Tsunami _again_, and then left through the front door to meet up with the awaiting gennin. Kakashi slowly edged away from the literally flowering Tsunami, who was completely swooned by her pretend daughter's shy manners. The man slid against the wall and reached the door, so close he could touch it, but on a last second notice realized he had forgotten something of dire importance: his Icha Icha Paradise volume eight, which was lying quite innocently on the table being cleaned by an insanely happy woman. He thought it over for a moment, wondering what the best plan of action was, yet after a moment, shook his head, waved to the orange bindings, and left. It wasn't worth it—he could still remember what happened the last time he bothered with reading it.

When he closed the door behind him, no one noticed how the pages seemed to sink and darken, as if someone had carried it in the rain.

_(Wave, Mist Village, Forest near Tsunami's House, June 26__th__, 4:12PM)_

After unveiling his mastermind training, Kakashi was greeted with two outright disappointed stares and one interested.

"Tree climbing." Naruto was very deadpan, hunching over and slowly losing the will to go on.

"Yup."

"…" Sasuke shook his head and went to lean against a tree. "That would help us… How?" Kakashi smiled secretively.

"Watch me," he ordered, and began to place his feet on the back of the tree. Sakura was going to rush forward to catch the handicapped man, when he seemingly stuck to the tree as he climbed, using nothing but the ends of his crutches and feet. The jounin clambered the whole way up, only turning to hop onto a large branch so that he could stand. Inwardly, he cheered at Sakura's mystified gaze, proud that, yes, she had her eyes on him the entire time and had captured her interest.

"No hands!" Naruto exclaimed happily, staring with the rest of his teammates. "Tree climbing with no hands! …How do we do _that_?!"

"Chakra," Sakura answered, awed, open mouthed. Her answer was not very soft, as if she hadn't even realized or planned to say it. "He uses chakra." Sasuke and Naruto stared at their affection, surprised at her sudden lack of stutter. Kakashi didn't mind as much, happy that she had paid so much attention that she had actually noticed the trick.

"Sakura's right," Kakashi chirped, clapping childishly. "By being able to circulate the flow and amount of chakra you're using in your feet, you can attach yourself to still objects like this tree and climb them without hands!"

"What help will this do us?" Sasuke asked incredulously, eyeing his sensei. "Zabuza won't be beaten by a simple trick like that." Kakashi waggled his finger.

"This exercise develops chakra control," Kakashi explained. "By maintaining the flow of chakra to your feet and climbing the tree, you're furthering your skills for jutsu. Many jounin have a hard time with chakra control—this is an invaluable lesson for you guys to learn. Think of it as a contest!" Three kunai landed in front of the gennin, one for each. "You all have one kunai. I want you to pick a tree and try to get to the top first, okay? Get as far up as you can, then slash a mark in the tree before you fall off. You can see your progress this way."

He hopped down from his perch to land and continued to demonstrate the technique needed to use the chakra correctly. After Naruto had to be reinforced of how chakra worked, they were all ready to begin. The three stood in a row, all feeling different things.

Sasuke tightly gripped his fingers together, and swore he would do this. He had to, in order to become a worthwhile knight for his Sakura-hime! Slowly, he gathered a slight amount of chakra and gathered it around his feet. A small force pushed the grass around him out, signaling he was prepared.

Naruto's eyebrow was twitching somewhat. 'I'm no good at chakra control, but I need to do this!' Biting his lip thoughtfully, the Uzumaki gathered a large amount of chakra; trees were big and hard, so he had to have a lot of chakra to overcome it and climb, right? His energy went downward to his feet. A similar ring appeared by his feet.

Sakura, however, was in a completely different sense of mind. She was panicking. 'Oh my God,' she thought, ignoring Kurokami's interjection of 'Amaterasu!' 'I can't feel my chakra. Where is it? Where is it?! There's… There's nothing in my reserves.' She said the last part horrifically, knowing what such a thing meant. 'Why am I alive, Kurokami?'

'**You're a goddess now, essentially—just not a fully fledged one.'** Kurokami swept her hands as she spoke, as if they'd help her. **'Gods are not, in a way, 'alive,' as humans are. We require no chakra to live—we use an energy force called kiyo, which is gathered from the earth and life itself. You are a smart girl… Now is your chance! From your feet, feel what the earth is like! Suck in the energy it offers you!'** Sakura followed Kurokami's orders, sighing and attempting to connect with the earth. She felt something dim—a force that filled her up to her damaged heart, a force that felt like the first fresh gust of wind after a heavy, thundering storm. Not hesitating, she pulled at it and flinched when it almost shuddered and became very heavy to handle. Still, she continued, and forced it to gather at her chakra (now kiyo?) points on her feet. They rushed forward to their designated trees, and if Sakura had bothered to check for the ring of "chakra" that was supposed to appear if she had correctly summoned the energy, she would've noticed that the grass hadn't even moved a bit.

Because it was dead.

Sakura made contact with her tree and shuddered—what she thought was kiyo slowly began to seep out from her feet, a very oozing feeling, like someone's hands were running down her legs. Gripping the kunai harder, she pressed on, trying hard not to let go of her borrowed (stolen, some part of her mind whispered) energy. But with each step she took, the worse the draining feeling got, to the point where she entertained the idea of stopping altogether, so that she didn't have to use it anymore, even if it did mean she'd fall to her second death.

'**Get on a branch.'** Kurokami had not advised, she had commanded the girl to do so.** 'Now.'** Always obedient to her resident goddess, rose haired Sakura veered off to the side and ungracefully collapsed onto a branch. Essentially she was lying on the branch, holding on with very weak and shaky limbs, her cheek gently resting on the wood. **'Lean over and hold back your hair, now.'** Once again obeying, Sakura leaned over, and noticed briefly that she had made it so high the leaves of the tree was all she could see in her bleary vision. Suddenly, like she had swallowed a bite too large, a ball formed in her throat, but instead of travelling down it went up. Unashamedly, Sakura reared up her head and vomited out a large mass of sliming, dripping, oozing residue. She was somewhat horrified that a stream of black slime, similar to the mass, leaked from her mouth like a sickening version of a vomit/goo river. Thankfully, it landed and pooled in a large mass of branches and leaves, protecting any wandering boys below from the nasty drips.

'What on Earth is this?' the sickly female queried, trying not to shiver from the disgusting feeling of the sludge flow from her throat and out her mouth. 'Why is this happening?'

'**I purged the nokori from your system, Sakura,'** Kurokami answered seriously. **'I did not think you were going to act so rashly down there, severing the kiyo so suddenly and brutally. You did not even wait long enough for it to correctly show itself…'** Sakura, reverting to that other persona, snorted.

'My fault?' she growled. 'How is it _my _fault? You were the one who left me without any instruction! And what the heck's nokori?' Kurokami sighed, and blamed herself for a lot of things, though mostly for "Death-san's" appearance in Sakura.

'**It had come to me very easily when I began to train for it,'** Kurokami offered, implying that she had originally thought it to be the same with everyone. **'But now, I suppose I should tell you what happened.'** Ignoring the snide remark from Death-san, Kurokami continued. **'From the beginning: you began to connect with the earth, right? Well, you didn't wait long enough and didn't do it right. I'm very literal with the term—you have to insert some of your soul into the earth or whatever you're drawing power from and gently ease kiyo out. After that, you felt that energy. That energy was indeed kiyo, but a raw, unperfected form of it that hadn't yet taken shape in a living being. Such energy is abundant in nokori, the complete opposite of kiyo. While kiyo is equivalent to praise—good feelings and whatnot—and associated with life, nokori is the equal of ire—hatred and such negative things—and brings death.**

**Nokori is a mass of negative spiritual energy that, when consumed, will normally cause death or insanity. It weighs you down, like a big secret, and slowly saps at your life. Nokori, though a powerful source of energy that is possible to draw upon, is not stable and continuous usage of it never ends well… You also have to suffer the aftereffects.'** Sakura (or perhaps Death-san; Kurokami couldn't be sure when she quieted down) was silent, the still thick stream of nokori still falling, as if a testament to Kurokami's lesson. **'And, I think you noticed this, the energy you had, little kiyo and more nokori, was released as you stepped, right? Kiyo, nokori, whatever you're implementing can not be housed within our bodes for long, as it not a power originating from us. Keep that in mind—there is no way possible to store energy for a future fight, but, at the same time, there is always a well of energy to pull on.**

Kurokami hushed down and began to sulk. Sakura had not made a sound, not even to cough or gag at the vile black seeping out of her mouth. The goddess was beginning to think she had dissuaded her charge from learning anything about the lifestyle of the gods or their techniques. Had she really broken her soft vessel…? Kurokami opened her mouth to start apologizing, or at least mend the great rift between them, but Sakura stunned her, as always, with her determined words.

'I understand.' The Haruno smiled cheekily, and even though her teeth were coated in black and she felt like sticking fingers down her throat, she lifted her weak body off the branch. 'I understand that my new road's not going to be easy. I understand that there are countless perils for me to face. I understand that I'm not going to get it right the first time…

'But I can do it!' Projection Sakura raised a strong fist that the real Sakura could not. 'Kurokami! Once all the nokori is gone from my body, I want you to teach me how to connect with the earth!' This feeling… It pushed her to move forward, to do her best. Even though she had no view of the boys, Sakura knew that they were working hard. In her mind, she could just envision their faces, dripping with sweat and panting exhaustedly, but they could still smile (or smirk) with satisfaction when their marks hit the top…

**We can work hard too!** Kurokami exclaimed, and then looked at the internal progress of Sakura. **If you're so determined, then I can assure you that you'll be ready by dinner time!**

Sakura kept grinning uncharacteristically, somewhat reminded of Naruto, and wiped away the residual nokori smeared on her mouth and chin. It stained her hand wrappings black, but at least her lips were clean. Slowly, she began to stand up, stumbling and clutching for support yet still confident; the pinkette stepped onto a lower branch, one closer to her embedded kunai. She could use this as a type of crutch as she descended, she realized, and tugged it free of the bark. "This… This won't be easy," Sakura mumbled, eyeing the very low ground she had to get to. Her knees still felt weak, even though she could feel her state of normalcy return (she couldn't say she felt her chakra coming back, she reminded herself). Step by step, branch by branch Sakura made her way to the forest floor. The sounds of Naruto and Sasuke going at their trees grew louder and more distinct, and she could even hear Kakashi's prodding laughs at she assumed futile attempts. The last layers of green leaves cleared and the girl finally reached the floor.

"Ah," she sighed, resting against the trunk for support. Everyone had stopped their actions to simply watch the girl relax and slide to the ground. Silence filled the area.

"OH!! S-SAKURA-CHAN MADE IT THAT HIGH UP!?" Naruto was right in front of her face, uncomfortably so. Sakura shut her mouth and pressed herself against the tree. Not only was she horribly flustered, but she knew that the nokori probably had a bad stench, and she didn't want him to smell her bad breath.

**DON'T OPEN THAT MOUTH.** Kurokami held an evil spirit's voice, foreboding and cursed. **NOKORI HAS A HORRIBLE BREATH. Once, when I had to purge it from my body through my mouth, it left such a bad remain that a plant I breathed on WITHERED.**

Sakura's inner vision squealed, and slapped her hands over her mouth. 'WHAT HAPPENS TO PEOPLE!?'

**I DON'T KNOW!!**

For the rest of that hour, Sakura never opened her mouth, not even to stutter when Naruto bear hugged her from pride.

_(Wave, Mist Village, Tsunami's Home, June 26__th__, 6:14PM)_

'Thank goodness,' Sakura breathed, taking another piece of salmon and eating it. Tsunami's dinner had taken away any kind of after-breath from the evil substance and it was safe for her to breathe.

And speak. Talking was good, too. Kind of.

"Th-thank you so much f-for the meal, Tsunami-san," Sakura squeaked, tilting her head and smiling. "You don't know h-how much I needed it." The woman _shrieked_, and began to spin in her seat. The men watched listlessly, wondering if they were in need of some kind of priest to take away the spirit possessing Tsunami. "Ah, so if you'll excuse me…" Her state of being was A-OK, confirmed even by Kurokami, meaning she was all ready to go and learn.

"Eh?" Kakashi turned his head to look at his cute student with his only black eye. "Where would you be going, Sakura-chan?" Naruto smiled and seemed to shift. Oddly after that, Kakashi winced rubbed his leg. Sasuke peered over, wrapped in his own thoughts.

'Hah? Sakura-hime-chan? Going out by herself…?' The very impossible scene that entered his mind went something like Sakura dancing away from him and twirling into a mystery man's arms, who was laughing triumphantly, while Sakura dismissed the Uchiha and left to rule some kind of kingdom without her knight.

_NOOOOO!!!_ Inner Sasuke held his head tightly and shook it back and forth, trying to rid it of that vision. _No, no, no, no! Sakura-hime-chan is destined to be with her knight! She… She would never have the heart to leave us for some low-life stranger!_ Sasuke's disturbed expression faded to a normal smirk and nodded satisfied with his other persona's conclusion.

Sakura pushed her fingers together and retreated a step. "I… I'm going to g-go train some. I-I'll be back in no time…" Naruto jumped up (nearly sending the table to the other side of the room) and pumped his fist in the air, sensing a chance to be with his love for some alone time.

"I'll go with you, Sakura-cha—!"

"No!"

Suddenly there was quiet as all shocked eyes turned to the girl, who looked to be choking on air.

'HA.' Sasuke slyly grinned at Naruto, resembling a spoiled child that just got the candy it had wanted. 'Oh, too _bad_, Naruto… It seems Sakura-hime-chan doesn't prefer your presence~ Kuhu!' Naruto, devoid of all color, sank back to the ground in a depressed heap.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no…" The blonde's voice sounded oddly robotic and soulless. "Sakura-chan doesn't want to train with me, no, no, no…"

Feebly, Sakura sighed and shook her hands negatively. "It's n-not that, Naruto-kun." Inwardly, Sakura bit her hand at her stupidity. Why did she have to say that? "I, uh…" Oh no, they were all watching her… How would she make up an excuse? "It's… Clan t-training! Ah… Y-yeah…" Kakashi nodded, contemplating the small heiress' words.

"She's right, Naruto," Kakashi confirmed, pointing to the orange ramen monster. "If she's going to be practicing clan techniques, then we have to leave her alone. You're free to go!" The last part was addressed to Sakura. Said girl turned to leave, but still guilty from leaving Naruto in such a distressed state, mumbled that she'd go to Ichiraku's with him one day. She was gone so quickly, Sakura never saw how Naruto nearly exploded from happiness, or how Sasuke seemed to melt.

_(Wave, Mist Village, Forest near Tsunami's House, June 26__th__, 6:27PM)_

**Sakuraaaa,** Kurokami sighed. **Stop being so stiff. Life… **_**Kiyo**_** is a flowing thing that you need to accommodate. You can't just go and expect it to fit into your hands… Well, it will, I mean… UGH.** The goddess pulled at her hair and Sakura meekly smiled. They had begun to work on Sakura's success with using kiyo, but the pinkette could not seem to grasp the concept of gathering the energy. **Think of it like this!** Kurokami held her hands flat out, palms up. **Okay, think of kiyo like water. If you want to hold water in your hands, but they are flat, stiff, and hard, then what happens when the water is poured on them?**

The pinkette thought for a moment, imagining the scene. "It just falls off, because the hands don't hold the water."

**That's right! Now, if you were to change how your hands are positioned and make them into a bowl, what would happen?** Not giving Sakura a chance to answer, the black haired woman continued, **It will gather in the hands because they made a shape the water would stay in. Think of it like that, okay?** Sakura nodded her pink head eagerly, not being able to wait for another chance to summon kiyo. This time, by keeping Kurokami's instructions in her head, the Haruno was able to take a small amount of energy without a hint of nokori.

'It's a very… Small amount.' Quite literally there was a pool of kiyo in her hands, though it was only a small cup worth. Kiyo, unlike nokori, had a transparent, shining color to it. The kiyo in her hands was a pale white, sparkling of its own luminescence. Experimentally having it slide from hand to hand like a waterfall, Sakura noticed how light the kiyo felt… And that she didn't even have to concentrate!

**Good, you noticed,** Kurokami muttered, staring intently at the kiyo. **Kiyo, once you summon it, does not need to be concentrated on in order to use it. However, like I mentioned before, it will start to slip back into the earth after some time of housing it within your body. The color of the kiyo usually represents what kind of element it is… Like chakra, kiyo can be specified for certain types of attacks. Yours it white… Haha, that's unexpected!**

'What?' Sakura took another glance at the shining liquid that was beginning to disappear right out of her hands. 'What's wrong with is being white?'

**Nothing! I'll let you find out later… Anyways, like I was saying, the colors are for elemental attacks. When I assist you in using kiyo, it'll turn black like nokori, but retain its heavenly qualities. I'll teach you an attack later, once you master gathering kiyo. **Kurokami then disappeared suddenly, most likely to begin a training plan Sakura thought. She sighed and looked toward the ground again and began to concentrate on gently easing her goal out of the floor.

Unknown to Sakura, there were two pairs of eyes surveying her carefully. One set (though it was a single eye only, and could not technically be called a set) was a charming ocean blue, and the only true pair was a satanic red, characteristic of Sharingan.

"Ehhh, do you see that, Itachi, un!" Deidara cooed, hiding behind a tree. "Isn't that the most beautiful piece of art you've ever seen, un? Look at what she's doing—gathering that fabulous shining energy from the ground like water!" The blonde with a look surprisingly identical to Ino's stepped out, ready to communicate with the small child. Itachi grasped Deidara's collar though, jerking him back into the grove. However, Sakura had heard the gasp and rustles and lost her concentration, dispelling the shining kiyo. She turned, inspecting the area, and caught the slightest slip of bright yellow and red.

"H-hello?" Sakura called, standing to hustle over. "I can see you… I think…" Deidara pointedly looked at his temporary teammate, as if saying, "Hey, now that she knows we're here, can't we say hi at least?" Itachi sighed and released Deidara's coat, sending him barreling through the trees and straight to Sakura. The pinkette saw the blonde approaching and time slowed down slightly; Sakura sidestepped deftly and Deidara continued flying on his path into another tree. Itachi, peering from behind a tree, thought, "Nice dodge."

"Ahahaha… Un." Deidara, after sliding down the bark, muttered painfully. Sakura cried nervously and began to apologize at an incredible speed, rushing to the Akatsuki to help him… her. It.

"I'm so s-s-sorry! I didn't m-mean it… You just came at me s-so suddenly!" Sakura's face turned a delightful red that clashed with her clothes. "What's… What's your name…?" Deidara, stunned from how adorable Sakura was, had his mouth open. Sakura, who was now worried Deidara had suffered brain damage from the impact, bent down to inspect his reddening face. "…H-hello…?"

"MY NAME IS DERDIARDA." Sakura screamed and fell back, shocked to the core by the suddenness of the shout. The blonde began to freak out, crouching the right way and holding his head. "Wait, no, no, that's wrong, I mean Deidara—my name's Deidara, un—crap, where did Derdiarda come from? I must've suffered brain damage or something, un—hey, what's your name? I saw you picking up that white stuff, un, it was pretty to watch…" Itachi tiredly leaned against his tree, exasperated from his partner's stupidity and rambling. Not only had he proved he had some form of retardation, Deidara had revealed that they were stalking the girl… To attempt to save their dignity, the Uchiha left his tree to confront the heavily stunned and blushing girl.

'Well, I suppose she's kinda… Cute,' Itachi thought off handedly, his mental self looking up and to the corner. 'She comes from Konoha… Maybe she knows foolish little brother?' He cleared his throat (Sakura's head shot up towards him with fear stuck in her eyes, most likely from not knowing what kind of creature Deidara was) and began to fix the horrible wounds Retard had caused. "I'm sorry for the retardation of my… Partner." 'Yeah, right. Retardation is being nice.' "My name is Itachi and as you know, that's Deidara." Itachi pointed to himself and the blonde while thinking, 'WTF, stop giving out information, what are you doing?!' "We come from the AKATSUKI and our goal is to collect ALL OF THE BIJUU—" Itachi slapped a hand over his mouth to stop the information from flowing out. He had no idea why, but his body just _felt_ like spitting out all of his sins to the little girl. Deidara know thought Itachi was the retarded one. Sakura remained silent and stunned. She'd never heard of the Akatsuki or bijuu. Itachi opened his mouth to ask the girl's name but instead yelled out, "I KICKED A PUPPY WHEN I WAS SIXTEEN." His hands flew to his mouth again and his eyes twitched.

"…" Sakura surprisingly melted into a peaceful façade, "My name is Sakura Haruno. It's nice to meet you too, Itachi-san and Deidara-san. I'm sorry about your head and your puppy." Silence ensued, and a lone leaf blew between the two males and the one girl.

"You…" Deidara muttered. His shoulders shook, and Sakura slipped back to being frightened. "You… SHOULD SO JOIN US!!!" He tackle-glomped the poor girl, squeezing the life out of her. Itachi stared at Deidara, who was hugging Sakura with so much force they swayed somewhat. "I like your name Sakura! I think you're cute, un! You should come with us and totally meet all our other members!" The blonde's close proximity to her made Sakura blush fanatically and push away from him slightly, knowing that Kurokami wouldn't come to the rescue this time.

"Um, th-thanks for the o-offer, Deidara-san," Sakura mumbled, her eyebrows high on her head, "But I'm afraid I can't accept it. I, uh, a-am in training right now… And I-I can't be too h-heavily involved in s-something. Maybe on an-another date?" The blonde nodded enthusiastically and Itachi smirked. The girl had no idea… But he did have to wonder what she was training for. Was it about that act she was doing earlier, with the white light?

"What are you training for, Sakura-san?" Itachi asked, restraining from revealing anything. Deidara nodded, interested to hear. Sakura looked back, as if looking at the spot where Kurokami normally rested, wondering whether or not it would be okay to tell them.

**Tell them,** Kurokami whispered, surprising her host slightly. **I can tell... We're going to need them.** Sakura nodded slightly and looked up to her, hopefully, new friends.

"I… I am training to become a goddess."

_(Wave, Mist Village, Forest near Tsunami's House, June 26__th__, 7:05PM)_

Itachi and Deidara waved goodbye to Sakura. They had to get moving, and they could feel presences closing in on the area. They had been speaking for a good forty minute or so about everything they could think of after Sakura had announced her purpose for training. The two had been skeptical at first, but as the young Haruno continued her tale of being saved at birth, to the nightmare, to almost dying, to dying, to being resurrected, and to losing all control over chakra, Itachi and Deidara realized the weight of everything the young girl had to go through. They had promised to help her as much as they could (without really knowing why; they just felt they needed to do it), and have given her a small ring that was identical to Itachi's, but was fastened on a strong cord.

"_Take this. We'll be able to communicate through it…" _Itachi had said. Deidara had added to only do so in private, though, since they weren't friendly with a lot of people. Their cute little friend had nodded and put it on, hiding it under her shirt. In return, she had told them to just mail the Haruno estate, specifically for her.

"_They won't f-freak out," Sakura grinned, handing them the slip of paper with her address. "Trust m-me—they'd probably j-just ignore y-you."_

After that, they had left solemnly, jumping away from the pink haired goddess in-the-making quietly. Itachi was deep in his thoughts and would glance occasionally at the slip of paper in his hands.

'A goddess,' he thought, no longer feeling the need to confess, 'Would Leader wish to know about her?'

"We should tell Leader-sama," Deidara muttered, voicing Itachi's thoughts. "I think… He'd enjoy knowing of another god other than himself." Itachi nodded, though inside he felt something odd, but not about his leader.

'I can't help but feel slightly on edge,' the Uchiha mumbled inwardly, narrowing his haunting eyes, 'Something I've never felt before… Before Sakura. There's going to be something bad… I can't tell what." He looked at his current partner, wondering is he too could feel this pressure. After biting the inside of his mouth, Itachi looked back forward, focusing back on their mission and leaving dwelling on Sakura for later. They had a demon turtle to catch.

Back in the clearing, Sakura sat alone, the crimson ring warm, hidden, underneath her shirt. She was happy to find more people to know, to interact with—they even agreed to help her.

'…But help me against what?' Sakura wondered, looking up at the darkening sky. Suddenly, a light thud from behind her shook her to her senses. Thinking it was Itachi or Deidara to get something, she turned with a smile on her face ready to welcome them back…

But who was before her was not Itachi or Deidara. It wasn't any of her teammates either.

No, it was the mysterious brunette hunter nin that had taken Zabuza away.

.-.

Hurrr… -crawls out of bomb shelter- Guess what guys… I updated! Yep, you bet I did…

And I know I said that the Wave arc was going to be finished this chapter, and we could move onto the Chuunin Exams, but it would ruin this wonderful drama if I had continued. So next chapter I'll wrap up Wave and we'll see some good old EVERYBODY INSANITY. That's right—Ino and Hinata will make their grand returns… And we'll see how a lot more people react to Sakura! (Trust me, IT'S GONNA BE GOOD 8D )

How do you guys like this development? Kiyo, nokori, the Akatsuki… Pretty exciting, yeah?

AND NOW FOR THE REASON WHY I AM SO LATE.

1: I am now a freshman. THAT MEANS I AM FRESH**MEAT**.

2: I've changed laptops. Baby-chan was dying… SO NAO I HAZ BLYTHE-CHAN LOLOLOL

3: My uncle passed away. :c

4: Grandpa had a seizure… Because he had too much cake. (NO IT WAS NOT A LIE.)

…And I always giggle when I see "???" reviewers. It reminds me of MissingNo. from Pokemon. XD

.-.

Translations:

Kiyo/praise/energy source for gods; depending on its color, it changes elements (life)

Nokori/residue, left-over, remaining/negative energy that, though powerful, causes damage to the user and insanity; premature, unpurified form of kiyo (death)

.-.

And now (even though I'm sure everyone forgot about it), the winners of the contest last chapter! Remember, you had to answer all the question fully in order to qualify; the bonus question did nothing but count toward your total grade (I.E: if your question explanation was not great, knowing the answer to the bonus helped).

WINNERS:

UndeadKitty

Thirrin73

Vesper chan

.-.

Reviewers:

Kurone

Vesper Chan

VALLED

UndeadKitty

Geniusly-Unique

Thirrin73

Deadpeace6868

-carsly-

Deixsaku

Kimeko63

TheAttentionJustEncouragesHer **(Pocky AWAAAAYY!!)**

Izabella's Jacked

XxMidnightMelodyMistressxX

SB01

Strawberries and Cream-chan **(Your name makes me hungry. ŏ_ŏ)**

AlphaSigma

ScaryGodmother (The "Hide and Seek" portion comes later.)

Psyco-Panda-Chan

Shadow-Quil

Vesper Chan** (BEEN FOREVER SINCE YOU UPDATED GIRL)**

-Morgiee.

Sakudragon

NinjaFoodLover

Amai Yume no Akemi

???

JKL – Kitten

LarkasBlessing122291

ChibiIchigo101 **(x2)**

ultraBlue32

Nikooru-sama

Musicinabottle

The Sociopathism of Trees

SakuraXEverybody

Darksakudragon

15thburningfiddle

.-.

17 Days…


	9. 8: Rotting Tactics

Summary: Once upon a time in the ninja world, a sickly baby girl was born… her guardian deity saved her, but she ended up inheriting the goddess' attraction pheromone… For better or worse. Slightly AU, Saku/Almost Everyone

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Rating: T

Story Genre: General/Humor/Action-Adventure/Drama/Slight Romance, Horror, Spiritual, Angst, Suspense

Chapter Genre: General /Drama/Action/Horror/Humor

Warnings: Some disturbing imagery with use of nokori, mentions of rape

Page Count: 15

Word Count: 6797

Musical Inspiration: Minami-ke (OST and a MAD of MADS on nicovideo), Kobato. OST, Soul Eater OST, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney GST

Notes: Haku gets his rapeface on, and we finally wrap up the Wave Arc. HAHAHA.

.-.

**kakurenbo**

-Hide and Seek-

:Rotting Tactics:

.-.

_(Wave, Mist Village, Forest near Tsunami's Home, June 26th, 7:09PM)_

Two men.

Two, unknown, full grown men talking with _his_ dear Sakura.

There was obviously a great amount of things simply wrong with that statement, and he would obviously have to take care of those too later, but right now Haku had one thing on his mind only: Sakura and her innocence.

'Two men and one defenseless girl alone in the woods!' Haku stared at Sakura with stony eyes, not aware that she had gone still as a statue. 'She could've been molested or raped or kidnapped or harassed or…' His fierce glare did not subside. Sakura stared back, but with a completely opposite expression.

'Is this person what they call a… A…' Sakura gulped audibly, 'A forest rapist?' Kurokami "fuu"-ed behind a hand, finding something that Sakura didn't know humorous.

'_**Yes, a forest rapist,'**_ she said in agreement but not sounding very serious,_**'Of course. Protect your behind, they always go for that first.'**_ Kurokami would never tell Sakura how she knew that tidbit, but she'd never need to know. Sakura set herself on guard, taking a slight step back to get ready for a sprint. In her current situation, she had no good way to protect herself, so running was her only bet.

'What a time to b-be slow…' Sakura wasn't a fast runner—she wasn't a runner at all. With a weak heart, taijutsu and anything extremely physical would never be in her ninja repertoire. A big setback for hand-to-hand combat, but she never planned to be a close-quarters fighter.

Haku took a sudden step forward, drawing Sakura out of her slight daze, his frightening countenance now swept from his face. Instead, he had a creepy smile on his face, like he was in bliss or staring at the most delicious dessert in creation.

'Ah, Sakura-chan hasn't changed a bit since she visited Wave so long ago!' He bit back a girlish giggle, letting his smile grow instead. 'Now we can fun together again…'

"B-back you forest villain!" Sakura yelled out, jumping backward and holding out a kunai in defense. She'd never throw it though—she was taught to throw weapons with chakra to make them faster and accurate, but she didn't know if it would work with kiyo. (She couldn't even use kiyo, so not point in thinking about that now.) "I-I'm no victim f-for a… A… rapist…!" Her voice lowered at "rapist," since Haku seemed a mixture of hurt, confused, and crushed.

"Rapist!?" The brunette flinched, waving his hands frantically, like they would explain his true intentions. 'N-no! I just want to play with you and bring you home and then give you candy…' He froze, slowly bringing up his hands to stare at them. 'That… That sounds completely like a rapist!' His color disappeared, Haku becoming an outline.

'He's a bipolar rapist!' Sakura cried in her mind, preparing herself for a run. 'He'll have his way with me and then kill me to eat me for breakfast!'

Kurokami snorted, _**'Who let you watch horror movies?'**_

Sakura looked away innocently, 'N-no one…'

Haku, still as an outline and slowly losing third dimensionality, reached a hand out and pitifully moaned, "Don't you remember—"

"I'M SORRY I DON'T WANT TO BE RAPED!" And Sakura ran, pivoting on her foot and dashing away, dust and leaves flying up behind her. She would have to make a U-turn when she got away enough, because Tsunami's house was in the other direction, but it didn't matter. She had left a matter of life or death with her virginity intact and her life safe!

Haku, left in the dust (literally), cried out in a freak moment of sudden understanding, the echo heard for miles:

"**SHE FORGOOOT!!**"

_(Wave, Mist Village, Tsunami's Home, June 26th, 7:27PM)_

When Tsunami went to check what the thud was on the front porch that she just heard, she screamed, seeing Sakura laying face down on the steps, her face redder than a tomato and gasping for breath.

"SAKURA-CHAN!"

_(Wave, Mist Village, Tsunami's Home, June 27th, 10:57AM)_

Everyone crowded around the breakfast table, eyeing Sakura with expectant eyes. Inari was stubbornly fused to her side, regardless of the multiple threats that Naruto had sent his way. Last night, Sakura had been found by a flustered and demonic Tsunami at the steps, lying on the porch and in an exhausted state, unconscious. She wouldn't wake, no matter how much they had prodded her, and then Naruto and Inari started to cry because they thought she was dead, and Sasuke began to become more emo—

"I-I see, i-it must've been, been… Strange…" Sakura lamely offered, swirling her chopsticks in her breakfast. "I… I ran here from the forest," explained Sakura, shrinking back into her chair, knowing the next question.

"Why were you running?" Kakashi predictably continued, leaning his head onto his hand, the crutches now gone. Tsunami shot a look at Kakashi, thinking it wasn't fair to push her Sakura-tan so far.

Sakura stilled slightly, her red eyes glancing at Inari for a second, attempting to find support. He was of no help however, and was just as curious as the rest of her team. "Er, it w-was a… Forest f-fiend!" She looked away shyly, a little embarrassed to say it aloud, "Y-you know, a, um… A rapist…"

Expecting fire and lots of yelling, Sakura was surprised at what happened next. Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke all smiled (instead of the charging and roaring she had prophesized) and calmly nodded (contradictory to her initial expectations).

"Oh, a rapist is all?" Kakashi chirped this, which Sakura found odd and Kurokami suspicious. "It's a good thing you ran away quick then!"

What no one would ever know is that at that precise moment, the three shinobi all thought the same thing:

'Kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill kill…'

Sakura got a feeling that her teammates were better at hiding their expressions than she thought.

"Well," Kakashi began brightly, backing up his smile with the happy tone that could curdle milk, "it's about time we headed off to the bridge. Sakura, I'd like for you to stay here, if you don't mind." The pinkette began to disagree and say that she wasn't hurt or anything, but the jounin cut her off. "No, it's nothing like that. I'd like for you to protect Tsunami-san and Inari-kun, in case something happens here."

"Yeah, we're poor defenseless civilians, so stay with us, Sakura-tan~" Tsunami's expression was twisted in that way that you know were about to be abused in multiple ways. "What will we ever do if we're attacked?"

"_Not that I could do much right now either,"_ Sakura fumbled, twisting together her fingers. "I-I won't mind. Um, good luck o-out there." The boys nodded resolutely with Naruto pulling a face at the girl's slight use of her native Chinese.

"Oh, Sakura," Sasuke spoke up as he turned to leave, "What did that rapist look like?" Her pink head picked up, before quickly lowering again to think.

"Uhm, I-I think he had b-brown or black hair." Looking off to the side, she blushed, "He looked a lot l-like a girl, b-but he talked like a boy. He was pr-pretty." She added the last part silently, timid to admit that part. Sasuke attempted to smile like a normal person, which had an adversely opposite effect; he looked more like a rapist than Haku had last night.

"Ja, get out of here!" Tsunami pushed all the boys out of the house except for Inari. "Dad, you go get those bridges and poles and stuff—I'll take good care of Sakura-tan!" Tazuna looked at his daughter warily, exchanging a quick glance with Sakura, who seemed a little nervous.

"We'll see you later Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled out, throwing a fist into the air, already celebrating. Sakura could only wave slowly and watch their back as they made their way down the street. She laughed when Naruto's yells reached the house, "Ow! Sasuke-teme, I'll kill you for that!"

Inari stepped beside the Haruno. "You think they'll be okay, nee-san?" Sakura stared at the path for a moment, the wind carrying her pink hair in a wave across her pale face. She smiled and looked down at Inari.

"Of c-course! Nin-ninja can take care of a-anything!" She grabbed the young child's hand and led him back into the house. "Let's help Tsu-Tsunami-san clean up breakfast."

_(Wave, Mist Village, Tsunami's Home, June 27th, 11:22AM)_

Sakura sighed as she pushed a package across the hall. Inari was waiting by the backdoor, patiently standing to the side so Sakura could heave it out to the backyard. It had been a half an hour since the boys of Team 7 had left for the bridge, and she had no clue what was going on.

'I wish I could be with them,' she mulled, giving one last push on the box so that it was hitting the door's track. 'I couldn't do much, but still…' Kurokami did not answer, wandering in her own thoughts. Inari assisted in lifting the heavy box over the molding and pushing it off of the porch. The package was filled with a large amount of rubbish and junk collected over the years, and would be slid into a small shack in the backyard. There was no good way to get rid of the stuff, so they hoarded it, planning to throw it away properly when Tazuna finished the bridge and the conditions of Wave became brighter.

'**You're going to be defenseless for awhile,'** Kurokami said, a slight warning tone in her voice, like a mother speaking to her excited child. ** 'Until you can start actually grasping kiyo, you can't do much of anything without my help.'** Sakura nodded outwardly, a bad habit she had trouble hiding when talking to Kurokami—it was like nodding to someone talking on the phone. She understood that she wouldn't be able to function as a proper ninja, but she still felt anxious not being able to watch for her teammates.

Inari took a small opportunity to direct the Haruno girl to the shed and open the doors. Sakura pulled away from her thoughts just for a second to see the dirtied shape the small structure was in; dust covered every crevice, the foundation didn't look very safe, and the outside was rusted and molded. It was too dark inside to see most of the junk, but Sakura could make out a heap of fishing poles and a collection of different gardening tools.

"Come on, this place isn't safe," the boy muttered, ignoring the fishing poles as much as possible. If Sakura could see better, she swore that the boy's eyes glistened faintly with tears. The pinkette complied, not asking about his shiny eyes, and kicked the box inside to shove it in some more. They both closed the doors, one person manning each door, and locked the junk house.

Just as Sakura opened her mouth to say something, Tsunami's terrified scream filled the air and jarred both children into action.

"That came from the house!" Sakura gasped, rushing along with Inari inside. The doors blurred together at the edges of her vision before she rushed into the entryway. Tsunami sat, tied with rope around her arms, and feet, and samurai flanking her. Her eyes did not hold their usual demonic strength or kindness, but terror for her child(ren)'s safety.

"Mama!" Inari stepped forward to try to do something, but Sakura grabbed his collar and kept him back. When he looked up to question her, Sakura's concentrated face silenced him. While she was not intimidating like Kakashi or Sasuke would've been, her nervous eyes hid a small streak in them, showing that she wasn't giving up without a fight.

Tsunami gasped and wiggled in her bindings, managing being able to turn to her captors and yelling, "Touch them and I'll bite my tongue off! You need me alive, don't you?!" The samurai to her left hit her across the head with his sword hilt, knocking her over easily.

"Shut up! Remember, you're not a necessity…" The mercenary looked over the two children, his gray eyes rolling over Sakura a little longer than Inari, and his mouth curled into a smirk. "We've got a cutie in the house, Momou." The other, bald mercenary missing one eye shared the same smirk as the unnamed samurai, staring at Sakura impurely. Tsunami, had she not been on the floor and tied, would have blown them to pieces, but her outbreak could cost Inari and Sakura their lives.

'**Hmph, I know their type.'** Kurokami, obviously unimpressed, flipped her long hair over her pale shoulder and snorted. **'They'll after you 'cause they think you're easy, but run away after you prove you have more power than they do.'** Kurokami refrained from adding in anything about the pheromone, not wanting to trouble her container. The pheromone did make the people around her love her, but it wasn't always as pure in some men—those who were filled already with sinful intentions only received heightened feelings of that negative emotion, and what was meant to be love turned into lust or obsession. Kurokami smirked, many of her native demon men were of that group, and the only people she really got love from were those from the human and heavenly realms.

'B-but I can't fight them!' Sakura shouted, tightening her grip on Inari's shirt. Her knuckles turned red from the force she used, the strain pushing against her skin. 'I haven't mastered kiyo yet, and since I can't use chakra—!"

'**Listen, you have two options.'** The goddess wasn't going to let Sakura run her mental mouth about being helpless. **'You can't run away from them, that's for sure. You could get away, but Inari and Tsunami will be left. You have to fight them, and no one's going to save you—if there are people here, there's no doubt there's ninja at the bridge.'** Sakura didn't want to admit that, but she knew it was true. If Kurokami knew anything, it was battle tactics. Demons were born to fight and conquer, and Kurokami certainly did fight and conquer while still a demon. **'You can use nokori instead of kiyo, for one. You'll regret it later, but nokori can be flung easily as a formless projectile that can suck life out of things. Second is letting me in control, but you know what'll happen then.'**

'My heart will stop for a second,' Sakura reviewed, remembering the lecture the black haired woman had given her. The switch in consciousnesses between she and Kurokami made her heart skip a beat, something having to do the brain going into overdrive from the change. That one missed beat could kill her, and Kurokami wouldn't be able to react fast enough to keep it beating, and she would go into cardiac arrest.

However, if Kurokami was fast enough, she could use her innate ability to quickly dispatch the enemies and return to the back of Sakura's mind without harm to the heart. They never took that chance though before, and they didn't plan on doing so afterward.

'I don't want to risk dying right now,' Sakura muttered, 'so it'll have to be choice one. Just tell me how.'

'**Easy, just grab as much nokori as possible and fling it like a ball at one of them.'** Kurokami added after thinking for a bit, **'But it won't be pretty. It may be a good idea to lead them outside first.'** Sakura nodded, and released Inari's now horribly crunched collar.

"L-leave them a-alone," she yelled, her face heating up against her wishes. "If I… If I go with you outside, I-I won't put up a f-fight, so don't h-hurt them!" Curse her stutter! Sakura realized how troublesome it was to have a stutter and be a ninja at the same time—how could you seem threatening?

The two samurai bought it though. Too easily for Kurokami's tastes, but as she mentioned before, she knew their type. They let the heiress go first through the doors, and slammed the house shut without looking back. Inari was furious and leapt for Tsunami after the door shut.

"Untie me," the woman quietly ordered, listening for any noise. "I trust Sakura-tan. She must have a plan…" It didn't stop the boy from biting his lip and crying.

Outside, Sakura faced Momou and the unnamed fighter, biting her lip as well. She held her hands behind her back, attempting to hide the dull shine that came with nokori as it pooled into her palms. She knew she was doing it right (or wrong, depending) when her hands burned and the smell of rot filled her nose. If she had to guess, there was probably a large ball of black slime in her hands, oozing and dripping like some sick variation of a melting ice cream cone.

"Alright then," the unnamed samurai began, his sword making a metallic shhhhk! as it slid out of its sheath, "time to get started eh, missy?" He took a step forward, waiting to see the Haruno's face before continuing.

The girl in scrutiny took a breath and looked up, her eyes filled with defiance, "I-I don't think so!" and she let the ball fly. To an audience, the nokori looked like someone took a baseball, dipped it into mud, rolled it in a dead carcass, and then threw it. The samurai, unprepared for the sudden surprise, recoiled back, but the wad continued on its path, hitting him directly in the chest. He screamed murder as it made contact, the ball of pure agony and death eating away at everything it ate. The soldier fell to the ground, clutching at his chest and writhing like a dying rabbit, before going limp.

If Sakura had smelled the death perfume from the nokori earlier, she was positive that she must have inhaled some of the sludge, the decaying smell was so strong. She would've thrown up if Kurokami didn't have an iron clamp on her stomach reflexes and two fingers in her nose. The other mercenary wasn't as lucky as her to have a guardian dimming the smell, and he fell to his knees and emptied his stomach unceremoniously onto the forest floor. He dry heaved a few times, hunched over and hacking up anything that came back up from his intestines.

Taking this chance gratefully, Sakura ripped more nokori from the earth, making a small missile this time. The burning wasn't as bad as the first time and the smell wasn't worse either, but something in her was dying and she knew it from this horrible experience. She had never taken anyone's life before and she hadn't wanted to for a long time, if ever; now all she had to do was flick her wrist and her enemies would die, shriveling up like a grape left in the sun.

"I'm so sorry," she whimpered, her eyes tearing up from the odor and self-hate, and shot the small sludge ball to Momou, unintentionally hitting his face. He shrieked, a sound Sakura never wanted to hear again, and clawed at his face, trying to scratch off the nokori. The impure energy only got onto more of his body, however, and slowly ate his flesh away, killing him slower than his unnamed companion. Sakura would never know that though, she had run from the scene so quickly it made last night's dash look casual.

'Never again, Kurokami!' she wept, dodging trees as the darted to the bridge. Her heart hurt like it would explode, and Sakura wouldn't have minded that at all, she felt so dirty. The nokori was already working its horrors on her body, a black stream forming from the corners of her mouth like drool and her hands stained black. 'That was no plan… That was a nightmare disguised as a way out! I never wanted to kill!' She cried out and leant against a tree, finally able to vomit. A mixture of nokori and breakfast pooled to the ground at her feet with Sakura's tears falling to join the disgusting combination.

'…' Kurokami could say nothing to comfort Sakura. She knew that what the use of nokori would do to the human body, and that the result was inevitable; but at the same time, she had given the lesser of two evils: killing. Killing in defense was easier to handle than killing in hatred, and was better than dying. Letting out a pent in breath, the spirit advised, **'Let's go on to the bridge after you clean up.'** Sakura's only sign of recognition was her movement to wipe her blackened lips and spitting out a blob of poison, her mind and voice silent.

_(Wave, Mist Village, Bridge in construction, June 27th, 12:09AM)_

Kakashi grunted as her parried against Zabuza's sword, attempting to risk a glance at the result of Naruto's and Sasuke's battle with Haku. The last he felt and saw was a great pillar of swirling red chakra, a product no doubt related to the Kyuubi. What had caused Naruto to lose control?

"Don't get distracted, Man Slut," Zabuza taunted. "Once I cut you down, I'll have Sakura-chan all to myself!" Kakashi put greater force into his kunai, grunting with effort.

"Stop… Dreaming!" the jounin hissed, pushing back the missing ninja. "My Sakuranbo-chan is the sole property of myself!" That part sounded a little creepy, he would admit, but it was necessary to yell out your deepest feelings whilst battling your rival! It was _Man Code_! Zabuza didn't take that remark very well, and switched tactics, aiming for crush attacks instead of slash. Kakashi smirked—if Zabuza could be led on by using such phrases, then this fight was in his hands.

Across the battlefield, Naruto stared angrily at Haku, Sasuke standing next to him. Sasuke was glaring as well, his Sharingan activated, though Naruto's demonic expression outmatched his rage face. Haku's senbon littered the ground with only a few poking out of the two Leaf nin.

"You… You…!" Naruto growled, crouching to overtake Haku. "YOU RAPIST!" Haku cried out in agony, as he associated that word with a sense of dread. Sakura, his dear Sakura-chan had called him so, and even forgot about her… "Rapist" was now a word of terror for him. Sasuke, who was so focused on Haku, didn't notice Naruto's demonic aura at all—he was too busy spearing the brunette with his eyes, taking in all the features the nuke hunter nin had to offer.

'He matches Sakura-chan's description perfectly!' In his mind, Sasuke was not dressed in his typical ninja attire, but instead wore a great, silver suit of armor fitting of a great knight. In the background, the Ino-dragon was chained to the floor, her face spitting out loud screeches; a new dragon, the Haku-dragon, was behind her, his hand flexing in a boobie-grope. His face wasn't as scary as Ino-dragon's, but his smile twisted up and his nose bled profusely, perfect for a pervert in the forest. 'This horrible being… Allow me to restore your honor, Sakura-hime-chan!'

"Don't call me a rapist!" Haku yelled out indigenously, sending out another round of senbon with a flick of his wrist. Naruto swat them away with a red hand and Sasuke dodged to the right. "I'd never do that to dear Sakura-chan!"

"You're not allowed to refer to Sakura that way!" Sasuke furiously took two kunai and sent them out to Haku in exchange for the senbon. The brunette retreated back into his mirror, but Naruto had somehow turned into an epic ninja, and quickly turned around to punch the mirror behind him and, subsequently, Haku's face. The mirror shattered into thousands of glimmering shards, Haku flying out of the back of the glass and landing a few feet away. In response to his chakra leaving the area and his concentration broken, the mirrors melted away into large pools of clear liquid.

Naruto stood over the fallen boy, snatching him up by his kimono collar and holding Haku up, ready to beat his face in. He pulled back, ready to hit… And he would've hit the brunette too, if Sakura hadn't chose to appear at that moment, halting each battle immediately.

"S-Sakura-chan!" Naruto reverted back to normal, tossing away the "trash," which landed farther away than before with a gasp. Sasuke held an arm out, keeping the Uzumaki from advancing any further, not saying anything. "What the heck, Sasuke-teme…!"

The Uchiha, with his Sharingan, scrutinized his beloved flower at the same time Kakashi did. The Haruno wasn't saying anything, just keeping her head down and slowly walking their way. However, not only was her attitude strange—her chakra system was completely different than it should've looked (at least to Kakashi—Sasuke only noticed a few abnormalities). There were paths missing, crossing at wrong directions, extra paths in her hands and feet, and her chakra center had disappeared, replaced by a net of lines. He wasn't a Hyuuga by any means, but Kakashi knew a messed up system when he saw one.

"Sakura-chan!" called out Zabuza, who had noticeably brightened from his and Kakashi's battle. Sakura gave him no response, and walked a few more steps closer, before slowing down completely and sliding into a stop. The area was silent, waiting for Sakura to make her move. It took a few minutes, but if they had been asked on a later date, the men would've wished she never did.

"You should stop fighting… _Right_?" The girl lifted her head up, a trail of black forming at the corner of her mouth, her eyes darker than normal. Her face, not white like paper, but gray, showed no emotions, only a small frown. Her sleeves, which used to be completely white, were stained with black streaks the same color as the stuff coming from her mouth. Her hair was pulled back into a small ponytail, some of the black stuff dripping off the edges, like paint.

The males took a collective gasp, Naruto even recoiled to the extent of retreating a step. Sasuke shot forward, taking Sakura's black fingers into his own, worriedly scanning her with his eyes (slash checking her out—she kinda looked hot then). "Sakura" (Kakashi didn't want to think that the horrible sight in front of him wasn't really their dear teammate) chuckled listlessly, taking one hand out of Sasuke's grasp and wiping away the small river with her thumb, only smearing the nokori across her cheek.

"Do I look that horrible?" she sardonically chuckled, taking in the battlefield with her eyes. "Besides, am I really the one you should be worried about right now? Gato's coming this way, _don't you know?_" Her use of Chinese unsettled her teammates; Sakura never used her Chinese on them casually. This girl… She wasn't their Sakura at all!

'**Damn it!'** Kurokami bared her fangs and reached out into the recesses of Sakura's mind, searching for the girl's presence. The one in control wasn't Sakura or her—it was that frightening persona that appeared when Kakashi had been trapped by Zabuza… The death persona!

'Death-san,' Sakura weakly called out to Kurokami, her voice fading. 'I felt her before… In… first fight…' The goddess cursed once again, this time to Amaterasu, and reevaluated the situation. Could Sakura's heart or mind handle three consciousnesses at once?

"Oh, I'm Sakura, all right…" She was reading their minds! Kakashi backed up, torn between his love for their adorable Sakura and the nagging feeling that an imposter was before him. Zabuza took a chance to help Haku stand up, but the boy shoved him away in order to get a clear view of the new Sakura. Her uncaring countenance put him on edge; Haku would never believe that Sakura was so apathetic or creepy.

Sasuke squeezed the one hand he held tightly, looking at "Sakura's" grayed face. Her eyes were no longer that beautiful, soft ruby, but instead cold and deep, like blood. He slowly spoke, "Who… Who are you and where's our Sakura?" The girl blew her band in an annoyed manner, slightly exposing the soft pink circle placed there, which was more recognizable with the gray contrasting it.

"Sakura, Sakura, Sakura; is all you think about Sakura?" Her slightly amicable tone turned around for the worse, becoming more like the way Sakura had acted during Kakashi's entrapment. "Listen, you fools, Gato is behind everything." A smug smile appeared on her lips, the black smear of nokori making it look more like a smirk, "they even tried to kill Inari and capture Tsunami."

"Are they okay!?" Tazuna yelled out, showing his presence for the first time. The pinkette clicked her tongue.

"Of course, but the place will smell for days…" No one understood what she was saying, but Kurokami exhaled through her teeth. She hadn't felt this "Death-san's" presence at all during the time of the quick and dirty battle… Had she been there the entire time?

'**What is she, anyway?!'** Death-san smirked for real this time, pushing away Sasuke.

"Your enemy is Gato, _you fools_." Death-san said the last part in Chinese, reveling in their confused eyes. "How about this… You win against Gato, and I give you back Sakura? _ How does that sound?_" All the men glanced at each other, and then shot a stare at the fake Sakura. Kakashi and Zabuza disliked not knowing the entirety of her sentence, but they needed their Sakura back… This Sakura was not charming at all.

'**Manipulating the men by using their inevitable fondness for Sakura…'** Kurokami gasped, realizing something that seemed important,** 'The pheromone isn't working with her!'** While it didn't give her a clear answer, the goddess began to feel a little more comfortable with this new being. If what she thought was true, then they wouldn't have much trouble with this Death-san.

"We'll do it," Haku announced, stepping forward. Ignoring the stares at his back, he focused on Death-san's please grin.

"Very good, _my little rapist_." Death-san chirped, cruelly pointing down the bridge. "Just go and kill Gato." 'Reinforcements are coming from behind, anyway. Fufu…' Kurokami grew suspicious—how did this mindset know so much? Something was fishy, for sure…

Somehow, Haku picked up on the way she had said the R-word, and cried out, throwing up his fists, "I'm not a rapist!" His soon-to-be rant was cut off by Gato and his men approaching the scene, the little fat man gurgling out a laugh that sounded more like a strangle. There was a large force behind him, a sea of samurai and mercenaries, who all looked ready to get in a fight.

"Ah, Zabuza and the gaki," the evil, little man began, trying to sound evil, but ended up looking like a constipated Munchkin, "How funny to see you here… Haven't taken care of Tazuna yet? Oh well, I never planned on paying you anyway... AY!" Haku flew toward him at the speed of light, his face morphed into such an angry look his face seemed ready to explode.

"DON'T CUT IN ON MY RANTS!" he bellowed, kicking the downed Munchkin's shins with shattering force. "I bet _you_ think I'm a rapist too huh!? Well guess what, I'M NOT!" Gato continued to shriek in agony, attempting to sputter something out, but Zabuza joined Haku in kicking him, only this time in the side.

"NOT GONNA PAY ME!?" Zabuza yelled out a battle screech, performing a fiery, blazing kick to the short man's side. "You asshole! We had an agreement! An agreement!" His voice was surprisingly shrill, making the formidable man sound like an angry hooker.

Team 7 watched the two Mist nin destroy the ring leader, Haku yelling out angry accusations of what being called rapist was like and Zabuza complaining about broken promises and how "you said you'd take me there, but you LIED!" while kicking him. Blood began splattering, but the two took no notice—only the henchmen watched on in horror. With two kicks and two final yells, Gato's body rolled across the bridge, where it hit a pole and ceased its twitching.

"What is this?" Naruto questioned, covering his blue eyes with his hands, not wanting to see the scene before him. Sasuke watched, strangely enraptured by the event, while Kakashi formulated plans on admitting the two to a mental hospital (he figured that not only would it do them good, it'd get the two crazy people away from his dear Sakuranbo-chan). Death-san watched on with a bored expression, before sighing, and waving her hand carelessly.

"Fine, I guess you held up your deal," she quipped, before closing her eyes and settling down. Sakura's body sagged slowly, before collapsing to the ground in a heap. The gray skin slowly faded away into a sickly pale color, and her stiff face eased out. Sasuke and Naruto picked the girl up, handling one side each. Sasuke glared at Naruto over the rosette's hair and the blonde reciprocated the gesture.

The mob of henchmen were in tatters. "What the heck was that!?" Their yelling grabbed Haku's and Zabuza's attentions though, and the group scrambled to get away from the crazy rapist and hooker man.

"I don't think so!" Inari yelled out, a devilish smirk gracing his cute face. He wielded a bow gun alongside almost every villager, each handling some type of gardening tool or sharp object. "You're all gonna pay for what Gato did to us!" The samurai squealed, flanked by all sides. After a minute of frantic panic, everything was let loose. Some hired arms jumped off the sides of the bridge, while some attempted to face either the nuke Mist nin or the civilians—either way they went, Haku, Zabuza, and the regular people beat them down, taking all their anger out on the evil men.

"Should we…?" Sasuke asked, attempting to hide his disturbed expression. Kakashi slowly shook his head, not tearing his sight away from the mass slaughter.

"No… No, just let them do their thing…" Sasuke nodded and Naruto gulped, holding onto Sakura a little tighter.

People from Wave… Were crazy.

_(Wave, Mist Village, Completed bridge, June 30th, 2:49PM)_

Inari and Naruto were hugging, tears and snot leaking from their eyes and noses, in an almost touching embrace, if there hadn't been so much snot involved. It had been three days after the great battle of Crazies VS. Henchmen VS. Civilians, during which Sakura hadn't been let out of the house or out of bed for long periods of time.

She still hadn't explained to everyone who that strange person was who was controlling her mind, but the Haruno feigned innocence and slight amnesia, asking nervously, "What, who? I was controlled? I don't remember anything…" After a day of pesky ninja (including Zabuza and Haku, who were surprisingly welcomed with only a little bit of hesitance) bothering her, they dropped the matter, even if she knew Kakashi-sensei and Zabuza-kun still had it filed away somewhere.

On the second day after the battle, Haku and she had a long talk, attempting to jump start the girl's memories of the brunette. So far, all she could remember was a very girly boy that picked flowers with her and lived with Zabuza, but that was it. Haku cried in secret that day, and swore to somehow find a away to make her remember.

The third day was surprisingly normal as Team 7 prepared to leave. The bridge was near completion, and now that Haku and Zabuza were "good guys" somewhat, the four Leaf ninja were unneeded. Inari and Tsunami were devastated; Inari because he was going to be left behind by his sister and love rival, and Tsunami by being separated from her new daughter. As a parting gift, however, Tsunami let her keep the blue kimono and the new white yukata she lent Sakura (the blue one had been dirtied, and nokori was surprisingly difficult to get out).

Inari, clutching onto Naruto for support, whispered into his ear with a deadly tone, "Don't think because you are going away with Onee-chan alone means that I've given up." Naruto's cheerful smile didn't falter, and he replied with a, "Go grow a penis first." Inari pulled away, wiping away his snot and secretly rebutting with a, "Yeah, tell that to yourself."

Sakura and Sasuke stood with Kakashi as Haku and Zabuza stood with Tazuna and Tsunami, parallel. Haku was tearing up but somehow managing to slide a glare to Sasuke through the tears, still harboring a grudge over the "Rapist" thing. Zabuza and Kakashi stared at each other intently, communicating a "man whore" and "man slut" to each other. Sakura stood in the middle, shuffling from foot to foot, held down by the serious air radiating from everyone. Even Tsunami seemed to be pulsing with a demonic aura, but that was usual.

Tazuna dared to break up the silence. "I think I know what I'll name this bridge!" After another moment of concentration to let the group pass their attentions to him, and announced, "The Great Team Seven-But-Mostly-Sakura Bridge!" Everyone clapped appreciatively for the wonderful name, but Sakura sweatdropped.

'That doesn't sound very good at all!' Nonetheless, she clapped, but with less vigor than Naruto, who was ready to start wearing a seal costume his clapping was so enthusiastic. Kurokami agreed wholeheartedly.

"It's time to go, everyone," Kakashi chirped, happy to finally get away from his psycho place. It was dangerous for his little princess! With Icha Icha in hand (they had made up while Sakura was incapacitated) he began to lead the small train of people across the bridge and out of the God forsaken village. Naruto and Sakura waved back as they walked, Sasuke ahead of them. Tsunami smiled to her father as the bright colors of the ninja faded into the mist.

"I'm so glad everything turned out okay," she chirped, skipping away. "And Sakura-tan even gave me her address! I can write to her!" This perked up Haku's and Zabuza's ears, and began the next great battle on the bridge: Tsunami VS. Haku and Zabuza: Fight for the Angel's Address!

Kurokami, it seemed, as the three genin chatted merrily, was the only solemn one.

'**The gears are beginning to move,'** she sighed to herself, content to watch Sakura interact with her team. Glancing at an hourglass across from her, she set a heavy gaze on it, studying how much sand was left. **'Time's running out. Oh, Sakura, what are we going to do?'**

…

From the deepest depths of Sakura's mind, a cunning girl giggled, ready for action the next chance she got.

.-.

HAI GUYZ. Miss me? I missed you…

Too much to tell you why I'm so late. You should expect this by now.

Thank Kobato for making me start writing this. I got it done in two days, AND PLOWED THROUGH IT LIKE A FARMER.

If anyone can spot where I referenced Falcon Kick, I'll give you a cookie.

BTW, this was totally different from what I was originally writing. See, I installed Windows 7 using clean install, and saved my files to a USB. HOWEVER, being retarded, I accidentally only saved the **SHORTCUTS** to the files, not the files themselves. The only thing that was saved was my music folder. My documents had died, which made me sad. But I'm sort of happy, because if that didn't happen Rapist!Haku wouldn't exist.

Sorry if I never got around to replying to a review you sent me—my previous e-mail no longer works, and I had to change them. I should be back in business now though.

.-.

No new vocab, kiddies.

.-.

**(OH SNAP WE BROKE 200 REVIEWS, HIGH FIVE EVERYONE!)**

Reviewers:

Vesper chan

Esserie

Masquerade Marionette

Sakudragon

Strawberries and Cream-chan

-carsly-

NinjaFoodLover

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Anonymous reviewer

Yuchi1994

UndeadKitty

VALLED

Amai Yume no Akemi

Insanitys My Cup Of Tea

FreedomIsPirateKey

NatureLover42

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??? **(YES ANOTHER MISSING NO.!!!)**

Geniusly-Unique

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Resamay-Shun

BellaPerea

Nikooru-sama

Sakuralover5** (3x)**

Eternal Icicles

.Sunshine-Chan.

.YUI.22.** (3X)**

.-.

13 Days…


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